
.Gt 



CopyriglitN?. 



CDBiEIGHr DEFOSffi 



Our Public Schools 
Their Teachers Pupils and Patrons 



BY 
OSCAR T/teORSON, LL. D. 

Editor Ohio Educational Monthly 

Formerly State Commissioner of Conuuon 

Schools for Ohio 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 
COLUMBUS, OHIO 






COPYRIGHT, 1918 

BY 

OSCAR T. CORSON 



FEB 25 1918 



COUUMBUS, OHIO 

TH E HEER PRESS 

1918 



©C!.A492382 



CONTENTS 

Chapter page 

I. The Purpose and Importance of our Public 

School System 5 

II. Improvement of Schools 18 

III. Natural Characteristics of Successful 

Teachers 35 

IV. Acquired Abilities of Successful Teachers... 53 
V. The Growth of Teachers 72 

VI. The Growth of Teachers (Concluded) 88 

VII. The Teacher's Surplus 102 

VIII. The Teacher's Surplus (Concluded) 118 

IX. The Relation of Superintendent to Teachers . . 127 

X. School Sentiment 148 

XI. School Sentiment (Continued) 160 

XII. School Sentiment (Continued) 173 

XIII. School Sentiment (Continued) 187 

XIV. School Sentiment (Concluded).... 199 

XV. Co-operation — Teachers with Pupils 213 

XVI. Co-operation — Teachers with One Another . . 229 

XVII. Co-operation — Teachers with Patrons 245 

XVIII. Co-operation — Teachers with Patrons (Con- 
tinued) 257 

XIX. Co-operation — Teachers with Patrons (Con- 
cluded) 270 

XX. Encouragement for Teachers 284 

(3) 



OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

THEIR TEACHERS PUPILS AND PATRONS 



CHAPTER I 



THE PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF OUR PUBLIC 
SCHOOL SYSTEM 

THE free Public School System of the United 
States represents the Nation's most serious 
attempt to make valid the fundamental state- 
ment in the Declaration of Independence that all men 
are created equal and are endowed by their Creator 
with certain inalienable rights which include life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; for the pub- 
lic school is the one place in all the world where 
there is guaranteed absolute equality of educa- 
tional opportunity to all, where wealth and ancestry, 
in and of themselves, count for nothing, and where 
brains and character and industry are certain to 
win the recognition they merit. 

In the public school the rights of the children 
are sacredly safeguarded, their physical, mental, 
and moral life carefully conserved, and their liberties 
made possible and permanent by a training which 
teaches them to recognize and obey wholesome 
authority, kindly but firmly exercised, and to re- 
spect the rights of others — a training which is 

(5) 



6 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

absolutely essential to any one who is ever either 
to pursue or to possess happiness. 

The importance of an institution can be meas- 
ured by the demands made upon it by its friends, 
who give to it their cordial support. By this stand- 
ard the public school must be recognized as a large 
factor in the life of the people. Each year brings 
with it new demands upon the school. A few dec- 
ades ago, its course of study was brief and simple, 
including little more than the "Three R's." Today, 
a multiplicity of subjects are found in the cur- 
riculum and the teacher of a public school is ex- 
pected to be well informed on all of them. 

The growth of the public school curriculum 
furnishes a most interesting study. To the critics 
who censure teachers for what is deemed an over- 
crowded condition of this curriculum, it can be 
truthfully said that the teachers are not responsible 
for it. Few, if any instances can be cited, of the 
addition of a new study, at the request or suggestion 
of a teacher. Many causes have contributed to the 
growth and enlargement of the course of study, the 
chief cause being an actual need in the life of the 
people for such growth and enlargement. 

As our nation grew in population and expanded 
in territory, and as our trade with other countries 
developed, there arose a natural demand for Geog- 
raphy and it was added as an important study. 
History followed, because of a well founded belief 
that in such a government as ours, it is exceed- 
ingly important that the youth of the nation have 
an intelligent idea of its founding, development. 



PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE 7 

and purpose. Drawing was added soon after 
the Paris Exposition, held in 1867, largely as the 
result of a petition by manufacturers who had ob- 
served in this Exposition that America's exhibit was 
not up to the standard of other nations in artistic 
products. Later on, under the leadership of the 
Women's Christian Temperance Union, legislation 
was enacted in practically all the States of the Union 
requiring the public school to teach Physiology and 
Hygiene with special reference to the effects of 
alcohol and narcotics on the human system, and 
another addition to the curriculum was thereby 
made. Some of us, whose musical education has 
been neglected, are without training in this im- 
portant branch, because in our youth the "singing 
school" of the neighborhood had ceased to be, and 
the public school had not yet taken up this branch 
which is now considered an essential in the course 
of study in all efficient schools. Within the memory 
of many is the time when practically all homes 
taught cooking and sewing. Now many homes, 
either because of indifference to the importance of 
such home training, or on account of the outside 
demands made upon the time and energies of the 
mother, give little or no attention to these essential 
household arts, and the school is required to teach 
Domestic Economy and Home Making. Not long 
since, local black-smith shops, wagon-maker shops, 
carpenter shops, and other similar institutions 
furnished the opportunity for boys to learn trades. 
Now since such shops no longer exist, the public 
school is called upon to provide manual training in 



8 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

all its various forms, industrial training, and voca- 
tional training. 

The demands herein enumerated, all of which 
are reasonable, wiH serve to illustrate how rapidly 
the requirements made upon the public school have 
been increasing. It is evident that whenever any- 
thing which needs to be well done, ceases to be 
done by the home or by other private agency, the 
public school is expected to take up the work. Such 
demands and expectations on the part of the friends 
of the public school are highly complimentary to 
its efficiency and mark it as a most important in- 
stitution in our national life. 

The importance of an institution can also be 
measured by the destructive criticism directed 
against it by those who, for any reason, are un- 
friendly to it. Judged by this standard, the public 
school must again be recognized as a most important 
factor in the life of today. 

Some of this destructive criticism comes from 
a class of would-be aristocrats who are not in sym- 
pathy with the "common school" because they are 
not in sympathy with the common people. To such 
critics education is considered a luxury which should 
be attainable only by the select few composed of the 
rich, the powerful, and the influential. To their 
narrow vision, education is really needful or bene- 
ficial only to the clergy or members of the so-called 
learned professions. In their opinion, to attempt 
to educate "all the children of all the people," is 
wrong in principle and harmful in practice. 



PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE d 

Another class of destructive critics is composed 
of persons found in various walks of life, who have 
an unnatural craving for public notice. Since they 
lack the ability to furnish any evidence of original 
thought or constructive criticism and the industry 
to secure recognition by any service of real merit, 
their only hope of gaining the notoriety which they 
so constantly seek, is found in making some sensa- 
tional statement which will secure for them prom- 
inent mention in the head lines of a sensational 
paper or the applause of an audience of unthinking 
people with itching ears for some new and strange 
doctrine, however false it may be. A consuming 
passion for such notoriety on the part of such critics 
is the only possible explanation for their extremely 
radical and equally false statements regarding the 
work of the public school. It is a matter of sin- 
cere regret that this class includes a few professors 
in colleges, universities, and training schools for 
teachers, who seem to be more anxious to be classed 
as "advanced thinkers'* or "original investigators," 
because of their startling statements which falsely 
describe the work of the public school, than they 
are to be honest observers of what really exists. 

Criticism of this type is usually harmless and 
sometimes amusing, when presented for the con- 
sideration of persons who are intelligently informed 
as to what is really being accomplished in a modern 
public school. But in many instances harmful 
results come from such criticism, because unin- 
formed people are often inclined to take it seriously 
on account of the natural, though incorrect, assump- 



10 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

tion that important educational positions in the 
higher educational institutions are always filled with 
intelligent and sensible occupants who are compe- 
tent to criticise and honest enough to refrain from 
criticism when they are ignorant of conditions. 

The most caustic type of destructive criticism 
to which the public school is subjected, finds ex- 
pression in the columns of a few newspapers and 
magazines. While some of this criticism is, no 
doubt, due to ignorance, there is good reason to 
believe that much of it is published with a full 
knowledge that it is unfair and unjust. It is not 
unreasonable to presume that its publication is per- 
sisted in because of a belief that it will create a 
sensation and result in increased revenues to the 
publisher. 

As an illustration of such criticism, attention 
is called to an article which appeared a few years 
since in the North American Review (Vol. 189, page 
372), a magazine with a rather conservative record, 
but evidently suffering from at least a temporary 
attack of a desire to create a sensation. A few 
quotations from this article will illustrate the venom 
of this assault upon the commonly accepted theory 
of education in general and upon the elementary 
school system in particular. 

"I do not deny for a moment, therefore, that the 
school and college system is developing and growing by 
leaps and bounds. All I desire to do is to warn the public 
that this educational ferment must not, on any account, be 
confounded with genuine reform. Far from this being the 
case, it is a dangerous and pernicious, although v/ell- 



PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE 11 

intentioned bolstering up and multiplication of one of the 
greatest factors for evil by which the world has ever been 
cursed. 

"These schools (elementary) have cost the country 
hundreds, perhaps, thousands, of millions. It cannot be 
helped; but, the sooner they are pulled down the better for 
the interests of the nation. However excellent the teaching, 
these schools are hotbeds for the wholesale destruction of 
the individuality upon which the future might and great- 
ness of the nation is dependent." 

As an excuse for this wholesale and vicious 
attack upon the work of public education, the author 
presents an indictment against the elementary- 
school system which is defined as being the system 
which gives a general education to children. This 
indictment is made up of three counts which can be 
summarized as follows: 

1. The practice of ''heartless deception upon 
the great mass of the people, who, in their 
ignorance, put a blind faith in the prac- 
tical value of the training which the schools 
purport to give." 

2 . 'There can hardly be a doubt that the pres- 
ent education system helps to manufacture 
criminals." 

3. "It lays to the charge of the elementary 
school system responsibility for the de- 
struction of human life on a large scale." 

All these "counts" are really "charges which 
are presented in place of arguments," to quote a 
phrase used more than half a century ago by 
Abraham Lincoln who, in his first debate with 



12 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Douglas, formulated an unanswerable reply to all 
such "charges": 

"A man cannot prove a negative, but he has a right 
to claim that when a man makes an affirmative charge, he 
must offer some proof to show the truth of what he says." 

Inability to furnish "proof to show the truth of 
what he says" seems to be the most marked char- 
acteristic of the author of the preceding charges, 
as it is of all destructive critics whose sole purpose 
is to tear down. In the absence of any proof to 
sustain the charges made, there need be no attempt 
"to prove a negative." 

Ignorance is the primary source of most of the 
destructive criticism of the work of the public 
school, and ignorance is always harsh in its 
judgments and dogmatic in its demands. Just as 
religion is most readily pronounced a delusion by 
those who have never experienced it, and the church 
condemned as a failure by those who never attend 
its services except to find fault, so the public school 
is most severely denounced by those who are with- 
out knowledge of either its purposes or accomplish- 
ments. In many instances, ignorance condemns 
what it merely presumes is taking place in the 
schools, when an attempt to discover the truth would 
certainly reveal the fact that the alleged objection- 
able feature, thus ignorantly criticised, has not had 
an existence for many years. 

Ignorance declares that the public schools are 
destructive of individuality. The truth is that the 
public schools furnish the best opportunity in the 



PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE 13 

world for the cultivation of all that is best, as well 
as the elimination of much that is worst, in indi- 
viduality. Each year of our educational progress 
shows a marked advancement in the improvement 
of methods of teaching and of discipline. In the 
public schools of today, the burden of anxiety with 
all good teachers is the individual child and the 
question uppermost in their minds and deepest down 
in their hearts is how can the individual child be 
best served and his highest interests best promoted. 

Ignorance publishes the statement that only an 
insignificant percentage of boys and girls ever attend 
the high school and that the small number in attend- 
ance is rapidly decreasing. The simplest computa- 
tion in percentage, perfectly plain to any one whose 
stupidity is not abnormal, and equally convincing 
to all whose dishonesty is not incurable, proves the 
absolute falsity of the first part of this statement. 
Crowded high schools in township, village, town, 
and city and the inability of school authorities to 
plan and erect new buildings fast enough to meet 
the ever increasing demands of a phenomenally 
rapid increase of high school attendance, certainly 
furnish abundant proof of the falsity of the inex- 
cusable misrepresentation persisted in by those who 
even pretend to believe the second part of the 
statement. 

Ignorance charges that the public schools are 
immoral and that the children who attend them are 
in constant danger of moral contamination. To 
this charge, the personal experience of millions of 
men and women, educated in the public schools, 



14 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

enters a most emphatic denial and protest. They 
recall with pleasure and gratitude the many influ- 
ences for right living and against wrong doing, 
which the public school constantly exercises. 

In his excellent volume on The Teaching of Cit- 
izenship, Bishop Hughes, in commenting upon the 
moral training given by the public school says : 

"Still allowing all the imperfections of our public 
school system at this point (Moral Education), the persons 
who have been the beneficiaries of the system and have 
reached the standpoint of maturity, will testify that the 
influence of the methods and instruction and the teacher in 
the days of youth all tended to make for manhood. The 
demoralization, if it came at all, came after school hours 
and was not a direct pi;oduct of the school itself." 

Perhaps the most potent of all these influences 
is the personal influence of the teacher. All cer- 
tificates granted to teachers in the public schools 
certify to good moral character as well as to 
academic and professional qualifications. The 
standard of morals for teachers is high. Immorality 
on the part of teachers is as exceptional as immor- 
ality on the part of ministers, and creates as much 
surprise and arouses as great indignation. It is 
impossible to estimate the value of the personal in- 
fluence of a good teacher in the lives of boys and 
girls, but there are few, if any of us, who are not 
ready to acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe 
to the influence of the public school teacher in the 
formation of character. 

In the daily work of the class room, the higfhest 
ideals of truthfulness, honesty, obedience, industry, 



PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE 15 

promptness, and other virtues are constantly incul- 
cated, and in the games of the play ground the great 
lessons of fairness, justice, self-control, and respect 
for the rights of others are learned as in no other 
experience. It is in the public school that many a 
strong-willed, high-tempered, hot-blooded little aris- 
tocrat, who imagines that he is monarch of all he 
surveys, learns his first lesson in the morals which 
are fundamental in the life of a true democracy. 
Fortunate, indeed, will it be for both his future 
welfare and that of the state, if he takes the lesson 
kindly and prepares himself for future leadership 
by present obedience and the development of a spirit 
of unselfish service for others. Equally unfortunate 
may it be, should his parents transfer him from the 
public school to some private school under the false 
impression that morals are taught in the latter and 
are neglected in the former. As a rule no great 
change for the better in the moral life of the young 
will be effected by sending them to private schools 
or academies. In the majority of instances the 
moral atmosphere of such schools is no better than 
that of the public schools and in some instances it 
is not nearly so good. 

It must not be assumed that a defense of the 
public school and its teachers signifies a belief that 
perfection has been attained by either. It does 
mean, however, a well founded and deeply grounded 
belief that the public school is one of the most im- 
portant factors in both the individual and collective 
life of our Nation, and an abiding faith in the com- 
petency and efficiency of a large majority of its 



16 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

teachers. There has been and is now too much con- 
demnation of schools by ignorant, prejudiced, de- 
structive critics who are ever ready to tear down 
but who seldom are able to propose anything to take 
the place of what they condemn and attempt to 
destroy. 

The imperfections of the public school system 
and the deficiencies of public school teachers are well 
known to their friends. These friends, however, 
believe that such imperfections and deficiencies can 
best be remedied by that kindly, considerate, and 
suggestively constructive criticism which constantly 
seeks for something worthy of commendation as a 
foundation on which to build, and then outlines in 
a definite manner both the characteristics of the 
proposed improvement and the process by which it 
is to be realized. Criticism of this nature is most 
welcome and v/ill always be gratefully received and 
promptly utilized by the teachers and friends of the 
public schools. 

With an abiding confidence in the beneficent 
mission of the public school as an institution, along 
with a full recognition of its imperfections and 
deficiencies; with an equally abiding faith in the 
growing efficiency of its teachers, together with an 
intimate personal knowledge of their readiness to 
admit their limitations and failures; with a firm 
belief that commendation of existing good is always 
more helpful than wholesale denunciation of every- 
thing that has been done, because some things may 
not have been well done; and with an earnest hope 
that something suggestively helpful may be found 



PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE 17 

in this volume, it is presented for the kindly consid- 
eration of all teachers and friends of public educa- 
tion, who love the public school for what it has done 
and who are unitedly working to make its future 
more glorious than its past. 



CHAPTER II 

IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOLS 

THE destructive critic who finds no good in 
the public schools as they now exist, usually 
insists that "An Educational Revolution" is 
the only means by which they can be improved. To 
him there is nothing in their past history or present 
practice which is worth conserving or worthy of 
serious consideration. Destroy everything in exist- 
ence and start anew is his motto. On the other 
hand, the constructive critic believes that what the 
public schools need to enable them to keep on im- 
proving as they have been doing in the past and as 
they are doing at present, is not ''An Educational 
Revolution" but a continuation of the gradual but 
effective Evolution which has been going on all 
through the years since their establishment. He 
would build for the future upon the good which the 
past has achieved and which the present reveals, 
using the lamp of experience to guide him on the 
pathway of future progress. An intelligent study 
of the history of the progress of public education 
and a careful observation of current events and 
present tendencies in the educational world, plainly 
indicate that there are a number of important 
agencies constantly at work for the improvement of 
the public schools. 

One of these important agencies is Legislation. 

(18) 



IMPRO\^MENT OF SCHOOLS 19 

Any one who is at all conversant with the history 
of school legislation in the different states of the 
Union and who is well informed as to the more 
recent school laws enacted in many states, must be 
convinced that the public schools are gradually but 
surely growing in the public esteem as indicated by 
the increasingly favorable consideration accorded 
them by members of the legislature and other public 
officials. Practically all the recently enacted school 
laws indicate a serious purpose not only to eliminate 
the objectionable features and strengthen the weak 
points of previous laws, but also to provide for such 
additional aids in the improvement of the public 
schools, as legislation can reasonably hope to fur- 
nish. 

Perhaps the most prominent features of all 
recent school legislation are the provisions which 
relate to teachers — ^their academic and professional 
preparation, certification, tenure of office, and sal- 
aries — and to a more definite and intelligent super- 
vision of the work of the schools, especially in the 
rural districts. 

The general purpose of such legislation is most 
commendable. It is important, hov/ever, that in 
executing all laws, especially new ones, the spirit 
rather than the letter of the statute should govern. 
In no instance should the legal demand for a spec- 
ified amount of academic and professional training 
be so enforced as to work an injury to experienced 
and efficient teachers who may not be able to meet 
all the requirements of the exact letter of the law 
relating to such formal training, but whose success 



20 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

in the actual work of the school room, as measured 
by all reasonable tests, is unquestioned. 

It is not wise to assume that all teachers, who 
have not been formally trained, are necessarily fail- 
ures, or that all who have had formal training, for 
either a minimum or maximum period, are certain 
to succeed. Teachers cannot be labelled with a 
"guarantee" under the provisions of a school law, 
as foods and drugs are under the food and drug 
act, with date and serial number attached. In 
making these comments, no reflection upon the right 
kind of professional training is intended. Such 
training is all important in its place, and a reason- 
able enforcement of the legal requirements that 
teachers make better preparation for their work, 
will certainly result in an improvement of the public 
schools. i^ I 

Closely related to the legal requirements for the 
better preparation of teachers for their work, is the 
question of their proper certification. In recent 
years there has been a rapidly growing feeling that 
in connection with such certification, many abuses 
have grown up and great injustice has been done to 
some of the most earnest and progressive teachers. 
Many teachers have a conviction that they have been 
singled out and made the victims of what they term 
the "examination grind." 

Their feeling is aptly illustrated by the well 
known anecdote descriptive of the experience which 
came to a teacher in a dream. In this vision of the 
night, the teacher appeared before the pearly gates, 
hoping for entrance to the heavenly home for which 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOLS 21 

she felt a life of faithful service had prepared her. 
With characteristic patience, she silently observed 
the methods of procedure pursued by others in se- 
curing recognition. First a minister of the gospel 
presented his claims and was immediately and cor- 
dially invited to enter the door which opened wide 
to receive him. A physician then told of his great 
service to humanity in relieving pain and healing 
sickness, and was bidden to enter. A lawyer elo- 
quently pleaded his own case, was given a merciful 
verdict, and secured admission. With modesty and 
timidity, the teacher then told of her work with the 
children in training their minds and moulding their 
characters, and, in supplicating tones, asked if she 
might come in. A brief conference followed at 
the close of which she was informed that before 
entrance could be granted, she luoitld have to pass 
a teachers' examination. 

It is no doubt true that, in the past, teachers 
have been required to pass too many examinations 
of the technical type, which are narrowing to the 
vision and deadening to the growth of all live 
teachers. School legislation, which purposes to 
remedy this wrong, is worthy of commendation. 
There is danger, however, that the reform may go 
too far and that schools of real merit and teachers 
of genuine worth may suffer as a result. The pri- 
mary purpose of requiring teachers of the public 
schools to secure certificates, before entering upon 
the work of teaching, is to protect the boys and 
girls, who attend the schools, from ignorance, in- 
competence, and immorality. In thus protecting the 



22 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

children against inferiority, the more competent 
teachers also receive a benefit in being relieved from 
the harmful competition of a class of teachers — a 
competition which would not only lower educational 
standards but also reduce salaries, since such 
teachers would willingly teach for less because they 
know their services are worth less. It is, therefore, 
perfectly evident that a careful test of qualifications 
for teachers is of primary importance to the welfare 
of not only all the pupils but also the best trained 
and most competent teachers of the public schools. 

It is certainly necessary that all who have not 
been specially trained for the work of teaching, 
should be required to pass a fair test of their knowl- 
edge of the subjects to be taught, before being 
granted a certificate to teach and there is no valid 
reason for exempting those v/ho have been specially 
trained for the work, from a similar test. There is 
always cause for suspecting the efficiency of the 
preparation of any one to do anything, when he con- 
stantly resorts to all kinds of subterfuges to avoid 
a reasonable test of the preparation which he claims 
to possess. The one important thing is that all tests 
be fair and that they be conducted by persons who 
are competent to judge of the qualifications of a 
teacher. 

While it may be advisable, as a rule, to grant 
provisional certificates, valid for a brief period, to 
specially trained teachers upon the recommendation 
of the authorities in charge of the schools in which 
the special training is received, yet it is not unrea- 
sonable to ask all such teachers to give evidence of 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOLS 23 

their qualifications to teach by passing a reasonable 
examination conducted by the state superintendent 
of schools, a state board of education, or other 
agency representing the state. Any institution 
whose work is well done should not and will not 
hesitate to have it fairly tested. 

To presume that an examination by an ap- 
pointed agency of the state cannot or will not be 
conducted in such a manner as to give justice to all, 
is unreasonable. The state carefully examines all 
applicants for entrance into the legal and medical 
professions and thereby protects, in a measure at 
least, future clients and patients from the harmful 
results of ignorance and incompetence of lawyers 
and physicians. A large majority of the complaints 
of unfairness or injustice resulting from these ex- 
aminations, comes from applicants who fail because 
of poor teaching or lack of application as students, 
or from institutions without the necessary equip- 
ment to do efficient work. It is true that there is 
always a possibility that an examining board may 
have in its membership representatives of incom- 
petency and inefficiency, and that examinations con- 
ducted by such a board may be unfair and unrea- 
sonable in the tests submitted and unjust, perhaps 
occasionally, even dishonest, in the certificates 
granted. It is, however, equally true that there is 
at least an equal possibility that the faculty of a 
training school for teachers may also have in its 
membership representatives of equal incompetence 
and inefficiency who may recommend for teachers' 
certificates those who are not at all qualified for 



24 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

the work of teaching. It can always be safely as- 
sumed that a large majority of the membership of 
both examining boards and training school faculties 
are competent, efficient, and honest. The best 
method of certificating teachers always recognizes 
the necessity of a friendly and sympathetic co- 
operation on the part of the representatives of 
both. A wise examiner of either pupils or teachers 
always gives due consideration to the work and 
recommendations of those who have prepared the 
applicants to be tested, and a successful teacher of 
either pupils or teachers always welcomes a fair 
test of the product of his teaching. 

While the certification of beginners to teach 
involves a number of difficulties and should have 
the serious consideration of all who are charged 
with the responsibility of directing educational 
affairs, a much more difficult problem presents it- 
self for solution in connection with the certification 
of teachers of experience. What policy should be 
pursued with reference to them? It is certainly 
unjust, unfair, and unreasonable to insist that 
really successful teachers should be subjected to 
repeated examinations in either the common or 
higher branches after they have given satisfactory 
evidence of a fairly broad and reasonably accurate 
knowledge of the subjects which they are required 
to teach. On the other hand there ought to be 
some method of eliminating the class of teachers 
whose increasing experience brings with it a cor- 
responding decrease of knowledge of all subjects 
and of power to teach any subject. It is unfortu- 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOLS 25 

nately true that teachers of this class can usually 
secure from some official source the recommenda- 
tions necessary to meet any formal requirement of 
the law which provides that temporary certificates 
shall be made permanent, after a certain specified 
period of successful teaching. To such teachers a 
permanent certificate is considered a warrant to 
cease all further study or thought of growth. Could 
permanent certificates, held by indifferent or self- 
satisfied teachers, who have no desire to add to 
their knowledge or to increase their teaching power, 
be revoked for indolence as well as for immorality, 
the best interests of the schools would thereby be 
conserved and the rights of deserving teachers 
protected. 

All teachers, who are worthy of holding a per- 
manent certificate, are constantly alert to the im- 
portance of self-improvement and better prepara- 
tion for their work. To them such a certificate is 
something more than an insurance policy to secure 
them against all possibility of a necessity for future 
effort of any kind. While it is a much appreciated 
recognition of acquired knowledge and teaching 
skill, its greatest value is as an incentive to better 
scholarship and higher professional attainments. 

For the separation of experienced teachers into 
the two classes — deserving and undeserving, for 
devising methods for a proper recognition of the 
former and the elimination of the latter, and for 
the impartial execution of methods so devised, we 
must look to wise boards of education and courage- 
ous superintendents rather than to school legislation. 



26 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Closely related to the question of the certifica- 
tion of teachers are the questions of tenure of office 
and salaries, both of which have been the object of 
much recent school legislation. Laws relating to 
these important questions are necessarily largely 
limited to general provisions protecting worthy 
teachers in their rights and fixing a minimum com- 
pensation for their services. For a solution of these 
exceedingly important problems in detail, we must 
again look to competent boards of education advised 
by intelligent and sympathetic superintendents. The 
teacher's tenure of office should be made secure 
enough to encourage faithfulness and efficiency, but 
not so secure as to make possible permanency in 
spite of laziness, incompetency, and inefficiency. 

While real teaching power can never be meas- 
ured in terms of money and while the largest and 
best rewards for unselfish devotion to the work of 
teaching must always be of a spiritual rather than 
a material nature, it is nevertheless a necessity that 
better pay be provided for better teachers if the 
schools are to have a large measure of improve- 
ment. It is futile to expect that laws requiring in- 
creasingly higher qualifications for teachers can 
ever produce the desired results unless at the same 
time there is guaranteed an increase in salaries at 
least commensurate with the required increase in 
qualifications. It is unreasonable to hope that 
enough teachers to supply the schools will feel them- 
selves impelled to take up the hard work of teach- 
ing from an altruistic impulse alone. As long as 
the occupations of day laborers, carpenters, painters, 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOLS 27 

plumbers, masons, street car conductors, and others 
of a similar nature offer a much higher financial 
return for service much less exhausting to both 
body and mind than teaching, any law requiring 
superior qualifications for teachers will be largely 
a dead letter. 

The value of intelligent supervision of schools 
has been so often and so completely demonstrated 
that no argument in its favor is any longer needed. 
Conditions naturally favor organization and system 
in towns and cities and organization and system in 
turn naturally call for executive direction and con- 
trol. Supervision has, therefore, been considered 
an essential factor in town and city school systems 
for many years. In the country opposite conditions 
prevail. As a result, the rural schools have not 
generally been closely organized or definitely super- 
vised. In the majority of states county supervision 
has existed for a number of years and has proved 
its value in securing a better general organization 
of the schools, in arousing a deeper interest in their 
welfare on the part of patrons, and in creating a 
stronger public sentiment in favor of higher stand- 
ards of education. The greatest defect in such 
supervision is that, on account of the large extent 
of territory to be covered and the large number of 
schools to be supervised, the definite and repeated 
inspection of the work of individual schools and 
teachers is not possible. Without such inspection, 
supervision can never be highly efficient. In a few 
states, supervision has been provided for smaller 
units than the county, such as the township or dis- 



28 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

trict. When such units have been able to provide 
sufficient financial support to insure a competent 
superintendent, the results have usually been emi- 
nently satisfactory. In a number of states, recently 
enacted school laws provide for a combination of 
county and district supervision. Under such laws, 
the county superintendent is the executive officer 
of the county board of education and has general 
oversight of the schools of the county. The assistant 
or district superintendents are sufficient in number 
to make possible repeated visits to each school and 
thereby insure an intimate personal knowledge of 
the work of each teacher. With such knowledge to 
direct, each superintendent is thereby enabled to 
advise and help teachers in such a sympathetic and 
intelligent manner as will insure better results. 

The method of electing superintendents, their 
formal qualifications for eligibility to election, and, 
to a certain extent, their duties, can all be pre- 
scribed by the letter of the law. The enforcement 
of the spirit of the law, however, is made possible 
only by an enlightened public sentiment which will 
not tolerate the use of the public schools for selfish 
and political purposes. One of the most gratifying 
indications of educational progress at the present 
time is found in the growing determination of all 
good citizens to divorce the management of the 
public schools from partisan politics, and to unite 
in selecting the best men and women to direct the 
educational affairs of the community. After the 
people have selected capable representatives as 
members of the board of education and they in turn 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOLS 29 

have selected a competent superintendent and quali- 
fied teachers, the success of the administration will 
then depend almost wholly upon the character of 
the relation existing between the superintendent 
and teachers. If this relation is characterized by 
intelligent sympathy, unswerving loyalty, and 
hearty co-operation, success is assured. So im- 
portant is this relation that a separate chapter will 
be devoted to its consideration. 

A second important agency in the betterment 
of the public schools is the increasing attention 
given to the course of study with the purpose of 
adapting it more and more to the real needs of the 
present generation. It is not surprising that there 
should be an honest difference of opinion among 
educators as to what these real needs are and, there- 
fore, a lack of unanimity of view as to how they 
may best be met. 

In the past the theory of formal discipline has, 
no doubt, governed too largely the selection of 
studies and, as a result, full justice has not been 
done many of the pupils of the public schools. In 
some instances, at least, the disciples of this theory, 
in their zeal to provide the discipline which they 
consider a necessary preparation for life, have 
neglected the essential training which prepares for 
making a living. It is possible, however, that 
greater injustice might result should the opposite 
theory prevail and the public schools be wholly con- 
verted into centers for industrial training and voca- 
tional guidance. Between the two extremes can 
certainly be found the golden mean which gladly 



30 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

recognizes the value of any or all training which 
makes for discipline as a better preparation for 
life, or which furnishes greater skill in the manual 
and industrial arts as a better preparation for 
making a living. 

All attempts to separate the cultural and prac- 
tical or to place them in antagonism are to be 
deprecated. Each has its place in a well rounded 
system of education. In the reconstruction of our 
public school system to meet the varying needs of 
a changing civilization it is highly important that 
neither be sacrificed to the interests of the other. 
The need of well trained workmen and workwomen 
cannot be gainsaid. But there is an equally im- 
perative need that men and women who toil with 
their hands, should have such a training of mind 
and heart as will enable them to find pleasure and 
profit in reading a good book, in viewing a fine pic- 
ture, or in listening to choice music. Vocational 
guidance, properly given, is certainly commendable, 
but avocational guidance is equally necessary. 

A third agency which indicates a determined 
effort to better public school conditions is found in 
the ever increasing consideration given the indi- 
vidual needs and capacities of individual pupils. 
This is manifested in the ready adaptation of 
methods of discipline and instruction to suit these 
varying needs and capacities, in more elastic sys- 
tems of gradation and promotion, in the careful 
study which is made to determine the causes of 
retardation, with a view to reducing it to a mini- 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOLS 31 

mum, and in the establishment of special schools 
for the special benefit of defective children. 

The old claim of the critic of the public schools 
that all the children are required to "lock-step" 
their way through the grades, without any con- 
sideration of their different abilities to progress, 
has never been well founded in fact, and, in view 
of all the means now used to furnish special help 
to the duller pupils and special opportunities for 
advancement to the brighter ones, such a claim has 
no validity whatever. 

The increased attention given to the physical 
welfare of the children and the enlarged provisions 
made for their physical training each year, con- 
stitute a fourth important agency in the betterment 
of the public schools. Evidence of this is seen on 
every hand. Old buildings are remodeled and new 
ones erected with well equipped gymnasiums and 
baths together with all the improvements in heat- 
ing, lighting, and ventilation, which modern science 
and architecture can suggest. Play grounds amply 
equipped and well supervised are provided for the 
children, in many instances, especially in the large 
cities, at great expense. School physicians and 
nurses are at hand to administer to present needs, 
to point out any physical defects which interfere 
with either the mental or moral development of the 
child, and to guard against the spread of contagious 
diseases. Open air schools are saving the lives of 
many children who would otherwise become the 
victims of tuberculosis. 



32 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

All these enumerated evidences and many 
others of a similar nature must convince all but the 
wilfully ignorant and the hopelessly pessimistic that 
the public school is today, perhaps the best medium 
of conveying to the public, and thus making gen- 
erally effective, the latest and best discoveries rela- 
tive to the prevention of sickness and disease. 

Better school laws, better planned courses of 
study, more sympathetic consideration of the indi- 
vidual needs and capacities of the individual child, 
and greatly improved conditions and enlarged pro- 
visions for safeguarding the health of all children, 
have been presented as a few of the more important 
agencies in the improvement of the public schools. 
Important as these agencies are, they do not include 
the chief agency for such improvement. There is 
always danger that the one absolutely essential 
factor in the success of any school or system of 
education may be lost sight of in a complete absorp- 
tion of attention to other factors, which, while es- 
sential as helps in securing desired results, should 
always be considered as secondary in importance. 
A concrete illustration may serve to make this plain. 

In the dining room of a hotel in an eastern 
city two men were taking lunch at the same table. 
One was a well educated, keen-eyed traveling man 
who was successfully representing a large business 
house, as one of its salesmen. The other had 
devoted his life to public school work. The con- 
versation finally turned to the subject of public 
education in which the traveling man manifested a 
deep interest. A number of school issues were 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOLS 33 

discussed and finally the public school man was 
asked to name the city visited by him, which in his 
judgment had the best public school system. The 
answer was substantially as follows : 

"The city which has the best school system is 
always the city which employs and retains the 
largest possible number of first-class teachers." 

A brief pause and a slight intimation of sur- 
prise mingled with disappointm^ent on the part of 
the questioner at what seemed at first an indefinite 
answer to his inquiry, followed, and then his ob- 
servation to the effect that he presumed the state- 
ment was true. 

That the statement is true, no one, who really 
comprehends what constitutes a good school, has 
any doubt. "As is the teacher so is the school," a 
maxim as true as it is old, must ever be kept in 
mind by all who desire to improve our public school 
system. The real and final test of all school 
reforms including school legislation, reorganization 
of courses of study, systems of school supervision, 
plans of promotion, methods of examination, studies 
of retardation, adjustment of salaries, tenure of 
office, and other agencies for the improvement of 
the public schools, is found in the effect that such 
reforms have upon the teachers who do the daily 
work of the school room. If the effect is to inspire 
higher ideals of life and living, to develop a deeper 
devotion to duty, to arouse a larger sympathy for 
childhood, and to create new incentives to better 
work on the part of teachers, then it is certain that 
such reforms are worthy of confidence and support. 



34 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

The whole purpose of the public school should be to 
conserve the best interests of childhood. The prime 
essential in any school which meets this exalted 
purpose is a teacher dedicated in body, mind, and 
soul to the holy task of teaching. To such teachers, 
the different agencies discussed in this chapter will 
be welcomed as much needed and highly appreciated 
helps in improving the schools. Without such 
teachers, improvement is impossible. 



CHAPTER III 

NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 

SINCE an efficient teacher is the one essential 
factor in making an efficient school and since 
schools improve in direct ratio to the im- 
provement of teachers, it is highly important that 
those who aspire to teach should possess a large 
measure of both the natural characteristics and the 
acquired abilities necessary to insure success. 

While no individual is born with a full equip- 
ment of teaching power, it is nevertheless true that 
some individuals early in life give unmistakable 
evidence that they possess in an unusual degree 
the natural characteristics of successful teachers. 
Others give equally positive evidence of the entire 
absence of any adaptation for the work of teaching. 
Education and training of the right kind will 
greatly increase the teaching power of the former. 
With the proper academic and professional prepara- 
tion, they are certain to make teachers whose pres- 
ence in any school will insure success. No amount 
of education or training of any kind can ever make 
successful teachers out of the latter. Nature has 
plainly labeled them as unfit for the school room. 

To succeed in a large way, the teacher must 
have a right attitude toward life. This attitude 
must be one of sane optimism and good cheer, 
founded upon a well-grounded faith in humanity 

(35) 



36 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

and in the ultimate triumph of right over wrong. 
He must believe with Browing that 

"God's in his heaven — 
All's right with the world!" 

No taint of pessimism must be allowed to 
darken his soul or to blur his vision of life. The 
pessimist has been described as an egotist who 
thinks the sun sets every time he shuts his eyes. A 
little observation of living specimens unfortunately 
existing in most localities, will confirm the truth- 
fulness of the description. Pessimism is always a 
compound of self-conceit and selfishness both of 
which are foreign to the spirit of a true teacher. 

The possession of a sane optimism and a spirit 
of good cheer does not signify that teachers are 
ignorant of existing evils or satisfied with all things 
as they are. It does signify, however, that they 
are not ignorant of the fact that the record of crime 
and sin and misery so prominently advertised in 
the daily press is not the rule, but the exception, 
in human life ; that they believe that the numerous 
but unrecorded deeds of kindness and the many 
earnest efforts to remove the causes of crime and 
sin and misery should also be taken into account 
in forming an estimate of moral conditions. They 
remember that whenever calamity or disaster of 
any kind comes to individuals or nations the latent 
goodness of the world always manifests itself in 
kindly sympathy and generous aid to the needy and 
suffering. This remembrance deepens their faith in 
humanity and confirms their belief that the world 



NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 37 

is growing better. Best of all, because it is the most 
encouraging of all, there is present in the conscious- 
ness of all true teachers the thought that, in the 
proper training of the boys and girls entrusted to 
their care, there comes an unsurpassed opportunity 
to help in a most definite way in making a good 
world still better. 

This spirit of optimism, of faith in humanity, 
of a cheerful willingness to help in overcoming evil 
with good, and of a definite determination to con- 
secrate time and talent to the work of teaching, is 
a sure indication of the teacher's right attitude 
toward life, and, therefore, a promise of success to 
all who possess it. 

Faith in childhood is another essential of suc- 
cess, which must characterize all teachers who 
would win their way to the hearts of children. 
It is remarkable how accurately boys and girls 
measure this characteristic in a teacher and how 
readily they respond to either its presence or 
absence. Words, or acts, which speak much louder 
than words, indicating a belief that boys and girls 
are all dishonest, untruthful, and untrustworthy 
will produce an almost immediate determination on 
their part not to disappoint the teacher, by failing 
to measure up promptly and fully to his estimate 
of their characters. Many of us can recall instances 
in our own lives, as pupils, when our conduct 
certainly met the highest expectations of such a 
teacher. On the other hand when pupils are made 
to feel that the teacher has faith in them and that 
misbehavior on their part is both a surprise and a 



38 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

disappointment to him, the best that is in them 
responds to the confidence thus shown and good 
behavior naturally follows. All of us can recall 
teachers who led us to do right by a constant mani- 
festation of their belief that we would not think of 
doing anything else. 

The oft repeated charges that children are 
usually dishonest, and always deceitful, and that 
they are common liars, are gross libels upon the 
truth, and unwarranted insults to childhood. Such 
insults can emanate only from confirmed pessimists 
who, perchance, judge all children by their own 
children and in so doing forget the influence of 
heredilTy, or from self-seeking sensationalists who 
are always ready and willing to sacrifice the truth 
for temporary notoriety. 

The fact is that children are usually too honest, 
too frank, and too truthful to conform to the con- 
ventionalities of society as recognized and followed 
by their seniors. It is well known, in all homes 
where there are children, that special coaching is 
often necessary to keep them from telling the whole 
truth about many things, at such times and under 
such circumstances as might render it exceedingly 
embarrassing. 

This faith in childhood does not assume that 
boys and girls are perfect, that they do not always 
need direction and, at times, correction. Neither 
does it presume that they should be permitted to 
do as they please or to govern themselves absolutely. 
The theory that a well governed school is a wholly 
self-governed school will not always stand the test 



NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 39 

of experience. The claim of some teachers that 
their pupils are better behaved when they are 
absent from the room than when they are present, 
naturally arouses some doubt as to its validity, 
creates a desire for a full investigation, and prompts 
a question as to how well behaved the pupils may 
be when the teachers are present. Even with adults 
self-government presents m.any perplexing problems 
whose satisfactory solution requires an application 
of all the wisdom of the past, together with an 
accurate knowledge of present conditions and needs. 
And it is not reasonable to ask or to expect chil- 
dren to assume all the responsibilities which come 
with self-government in school. They need and 
should have the directing influence and sympathetic 
help of cool-headed, warm-hearted teachers who will 
win their confidence by freely giving them their 
own. 

Such confidence in boys and girls is a necessary 
foundation on which to build a wholesome respect 
for them and a just recognition of their rights. 
Without such respect and recognition, it is impos- 
sible for any teacher to possess that genuine love 
for children, which is essential to real success in 
the school room. All true teaching touches the 
heart and molds the life, as well as trains the intel- 
lect. Every true teacher must feel with Charles 
Dickens : 

*'*I love these little people, and it is not a slight thing 
when they, so fresh from God, love us." 



40 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Such love for childhood never manifests itself 
in the form of a sickly sentimentality so nauseating 
to all normal children who are sometimes driven 
to desperation by silly teachers or parents who are 
constantly making a declaration of their love at all 
times, both in public and private. Frequently the 
kindly word of appreciation should be spoken. 
Perhaps, even more frequently an approving smile 
or a little act of courtesy or kindness on the part 
of the teacher will prove to the children that they 
are, indeed, the objects of loving consideration. 
Occasionally a punishment for some wrong act may 
furnish the most convincing evidence of a love 
v/hich is most genuine. The one fact never to be 
forgotten by teachers is that in the currency of 
love for childhood, there can be no counterfeits, and 
that any attempt to deceive children by pretending 
to possess a love for them, which does not exist, is 
certain to meet with immediate detection. 

No finer delineation of this love, which should 
characterize the spirit of the true teacher, has ever 
been presented than that found in the thirteenth 
chapter of the Apostle Paul's First Epistle to the 
Corinthians. The following quotation from this 
remarkable chapter can well be made a part of the 
creed of every teacher : 

"Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; 
love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave 
itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh 
not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but 
rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all 
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never 
faileth." 



NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 41 

Because of their human limitations the best 
teachers sometimes fail. But the experience of all 
teachers who are really successful, will bear testi- 
mony to the fact that the degree of success attained 
is largely commensurate with the genuineness of 
their love for the children whom they teach. 

Love for children founded upon faith in them, 
respect for their rights, and consideration for their 
feelings will never permit teachers to grow into 
habitual scolds. There can be no doubt that, with 
too many teachers, there is a tendency to become 
impatient, sarcastic, and peevish with pupils. Un- 
less such tendency is carefully guarded, a con- 
firmed habit of scolding will soon be formed and 
harmful results will certainly follow. The tongue 
has been well described as the only sharp-edged tool 
which grows sharper with constant use, and there 
are some teachers whose tongues are so constantly 
sharpened with this constant use that they never 
lose an opportunity to exhibit their power to cut 
and wound the feelings of their pupils. Teachers 
who persist in speaking to their pupils in language 
which would not be tolerated in polite society, should 
not be tolerated in the class room of any public 
school or college. All pupils and students have a 
right to courteous treatment and should not be re- 
quired to associate with discourteous teachers. 

The scolding habit is as foolish as it is harm- 
ful. Such a habit is always the outgrowth of uncon- 
trolled temper and an exhibition of uncontrolled 
temper on the part of teachers is usually a source 
of great amusement to pupils. Many times in 



42 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

schools taught by such teachers, fun-loving pupils 
will take turns in making a disturbance in order to 
create a scene and thus have an opportunity to 
observe their teachers in action. The price paid for 
such entertainment by the pupils who created the 
conditions which produced it, is sometimes high. 
But it is usually cheerfully paid, because of the 
knowledge that their "turn" will not come again 
soon, and because of the consciousness that, through 
their temporary suffering, additional joys and 
pleasures have come to their comrades. 

The most harmful way, however, in which an 
ill-natured disposition can manifest itself is in the 
use of sarcasm. If its use served only *'to tear the 
flesh like dogs," as the derivation of the word in- 
dicates, the wounds produced thereby might in time 
heal, leaving little or no mark; but the hurt pro- 
duced by sarcasm goes much deeper, piercing the 
very soul of the one who is the victim of its bite, 
and should the wound thus produced heal at all, a 
permanent scar is certain to remain. Many super- 
intendents are painfully aware of the serious dif- 
ficulties which sometimes arise in the management 
of schools in connection with both children and their 
parents, because of the cutting remarks made by 
some sarcastic teacher whose tongue is, indeed, **an 
unruly evil, full of deadly poison." No occasion 
can arise in any school or class room to justify the 
use of sarcasm, and persistence in its use by any 
teacher should be sufficient cause for his dismissal. 

In Bleak House, there was one room which was 
used at times by its owner for a peculiar purpose. 



NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 43 

Into this room Mr. Jarndyce was accustomed to 
retire when he was deceived, or disappointed, or 
out of humor. This room, claimed to be the best- 
used room in the house, was known as the 
''Growlery.'' If one so benevolent as Mr. Jarndyce, 
whose fits of ill humor were more affected than real, 
felt the need of such a refuge in which to go to 
growl, when out of humor, it seems not inappro- 
priate to suggest that every school building should 
have at least one room of this kind, into which 
teachers can go when seized with a fit of scolding, 
and there remain until self-control returns and they 
are thereby enabled once more to assume control of 
their pupils. Without such self-control, a high 
degree of success is impossible. Its growth always 
characterizes the grov/ing teacher. The lack of it 
is the cause of many failures. 

Insistence that teachers shall treat their pupils 
with respect and courtesy, avoid all forms of 
abusive speech, and not indulge in scolding, does 
not imply that they should be devoid of temper, or 
incapable of showing displeasure, or of feeling in- 
dignation at an intended aifront or injury. Teach- 
ers need temper in abundant supply. But they also 
need to control it; not to be controlled by it. In 
the presence of a teacher whose temper is evident 
but whose self-control is shov/n by calmness of mind 
and moderation of speech, the most mischievous 
pupils will think carefully before taking any steps 
to stir up trouble. Under such conditions, they 
quietly hoist the danger signal — "Stop, look, and 
listen" — which will warn all their associates to 



44 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

move carefully as there may be serious trouble 
ahead. | } 

In addition to faith in humanity and in chil- 
dren, teachers must also have faith in themselves. 
This faith does not mean self-complacency, self- 
conceit, or self-satisfaction. It does mean that self- 
reliance or self-confidence which is absolutely 
essential to the success of any one who assumes 
responsibility or improves opportunity. Self-exalta- 
tion and self-praise are foreign to true greatness. 
To a teacher of genuine merit, personal vanity is 
unknown. There are two types of egotism which 
sensible and honest people always shun. The one 
type overestimates personal worth and is exceed- 
ingly offensive. The other pretends to a false 
humility and is, perhaps, even more distasteful. The 
first sings its own praise; the other is constantly 
seeking compliments from others. 

Between the two extremes — foolish overap- 
preciation of self and insincere self-depreciation — 
there is the middle ground of sensible self-confidence 
on which successful teachers must stand, with faith 
in themselves that they are able to meet the demands 
made upon them in the performance of their duties 
in the school room. Such faith and confidence will 
lead teachers to utilize all possible means of growth 
in self-reliance, in order that they may be able to 
help themselves in trying emergencies. 

In the success which results largely from per- 
sonal effort, teachers in common with humanity in 
general find one of their gravest dangers — the 
danger that they may, in the hour of their success, 



NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 45 

SO overestimate their abilities to help themselves 
that they will become boastful rather than grateful. 
Faith in themselves must not, therefore, be per- 
mitted to exclude a keen appreciation of the limita- 
tions of their personal efforts in any success at- 
tained, of the need, sometimes, of help from others, 
and of the importance, at all times, of a feeling of 
genuine gratitude for help received. Temporary- 
success in teaching, as in all other callings or pro- 
fessions, is a much severer test of character than 
occasional failure. Inability to pass such a test 
successfully is always shown by the lack of a spirit 
of genuine humility which is always more willing 
to give credit to others than to claim it for self. 

Faith in self of the right type, is well described 
in the following sentence, used by General Horace 
Porter in his characterization of the successful com- 
mander of the Union forces in the Civil War : 

"General Grant never underestimated himself in bat- 
tle. He never overestimated himself in victory." 

A brief review of the career of General Grant 
will furnish abundant evidence of the truthfulness 
of this characterization. It will be recalled that he 
was trained for the life of a soldier in the military 
academy at West Point and that he served with 
distinction in the Mexican War, taking part in all 
its battles save one, and being repeatedly brevetted 
for gallantry. Notwithstanding this training and 
experience, so modest and retiring was his disposi- 
tion, that he resigned his commission of Captain in 
1854 and engaged in farming near St. Louis. Later 



46 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

on he became associated with his father in the 
leather business at Galena. When the Civil War 
broke out, he promptly tendered his services to the 
government which had educated him but received 
no reply to his letter addressed to the Adjutant 
General of the Army. His appointment, however, 
as colonel of an Illinois regiment, by Governor 
Yates, furnished him the opportunity for service 
which he craved and his promotions, which rapidly 
followed, are well known. From September 6, 1861, 
when he seized Paducah, to April 9, 1865, that 
memorable day in our Nation's history, when Gen- 
eral Lee's army surrendered at Appomattox and 
thus virtually ended the war, every act of General 
Grant plainly showed that the first part of General 
Porter's characterization is correct. Two historic 
instances will serve to illustrate this side of his 
character. 

When General Buckner, v/ho was in command 
of the Confederate forces at Fort Donelson, pro- 
posed an armistice and the appointment of commis- 
sioners to agree upon terms of capitulation of the 
forces and fort under his command, General Grant 
immediately replied in language which left no doubt 
as to his absolute confidence in his ability to en- 
force the terms of his proposal — "No temis except 
an unconditional and immediate surrender can be 
accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your 
works." These are not the boastful words of an 
egotist, unduly impressed with an overestimation 
of his own self-importance. They are the calm ex- 
pression of sublime self-confidence on the part of an 



NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 47 

extremely modest man who did not underestimate 
himself in battle. 

Again, in the awful days of May, 1864, when 
thousands of brave men were sacrificed in terrible 
warfare, and, as a consequence. General Grant was 
subjected to the most severe denunciation and abuse 
by those whose ignorance of conditions and needs 
made them ever ready to criticise his movements; 
when he was called a "butcher" by some of the 
people of the North whose battles he was grimly but 
successfully fighting, there came from this man of 
few words but mighty deeds, the laconic expression 
of his determined "purpose to fight it out on this 
line, if it takes all summer" — another proof of his 
faith in himself to lead his armies to final victory. 

That he did not overestimate himself in victory 
is evidenced in many instances of his career. One 
of the most impressive of these is found in the sur- 
render at Appomattox, one of the greatest events 
recorded in human history. 

A man of less self-control and generosity than 
General Grant, might have found in the victory 
which came with this surrender, some excuse for 
personal glorification, as well as an opportunity to 
humiliate a great adversary. But no such thought 
seems to have entered the mind of General Grant. 
His generous soul and modest spirit prompted him 
to avoid all appearance of ostentation and to show 
every possible courtesy to General Lee and his de- 
feated troops. He tells us in his Personal Memoirs 
that, while his feelings were quite jubilant on the 
receipt of General Lee's letter relating to the sur- 



48 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

render, when the surrender itself came, he felt like 
anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of 
a foe who had fought so long and valiantly and had 
suffered so much. In kindness of heart, modesty 
of manner, and simplicity of speech, General Grant 
stated the terms of surrender, which were most 
liberal and generous. In every possible way, he 
manifested the most kindly consideration for his 
great opponent and his generous sympathy for the 
defeated army, even to the extent of stopping his 
own victorious soldiers from firing a salute of one 
hundred guns in honor of their victory, because he 
did not want to exult over the downfall of the Con- 
federates who were then their prisoners. 

In these hours of triumphant success, General 
Grant did not overestimate himself. With humility 
as marked in victory as self-confidence had been in 
battle, he began at once to exert his whole influence 
for peace. The four short words contained in one 
of the shortest sentences of his brief letter of accept- 
ance of his nomination for the presidency — "Let us 
have peace" — fell like a benediction upon all sec- 
tions of the Nation which he loved, did much to 
help to heal that Nation's wounds, and to prepare 
the way for the national peace which all hope and 
believe is to be permanent. 

On July 23, 1885, on Mount McGreggor, the 
earthly life of General Grant came to a close, after 
long and intense suffering in the midst of which he 
finished his Personal Memoirs, In these Memoirs 
he tells the intensely interesting story of his life 
and military campaigns, in language which is 



NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 49 

eloquent in its simplicity and which breathes the 
spirit of self-confidence in the successful perform- 
ance of what he deemed a sacred duty, together 
with a most generous recognition of the assistance 
of all who helped to win the victory, and the most 
kindly consideration of all his opponents. These 
Memoirs, with their preface prepared in the pres- 
ence of death, not only tell an interesting story, 
but also reveal the real source of the greatness of 
General Grant whose claim to immortality rests not 
alone on his victories on the field of battle. In his 
peaceful attitude toward all sections of the country, 
after the war ended, he exemplified a characteristic 
in marked contrast to that which has usually dom- 
inated the lives and actions of great military 
leaders. 

Died at the early age of thirty-three from 
drinking too much wine and weeping because there 
were no more worlds to conquer, is the brief sum- 
mary of the close of the life of Alexander the Great, 
familiar to all who learned to read by using the 
old McGuffey Readers. This brief summary shows 
that the Great Conqueror of the whole known world 
of his day, was an utter failure when measured by 
his conduct in the hour of victory. In mere mili- 
tary glory, he may outshine General Grant, but in 
the arts of peace, the hero of Appomattox far sur- 
passes him. 

Napoleon was a master of the science of war. 
In ability to command men and win military vic- 
tories he certainly has had few equals and, per- 
haps, no superior. Like General Grant he never 



50 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

underestimated himself in battle. But his dying 
words — ''The Head of the Army!" — as they come 
to us out of his isolation on the lonely island of 
St. Helena, clearly prove that his insatiable am- 
bition which led to his downfall, had never been 
conquered. In the hour of victory his greatness is 
not comparable to that of General Grant. 

Teachers in common with all persons who are 
engaged in work of far reaching importance have, 
at times, serious difficulties to meet. To meet such 
difficulties in that brave spirit which does not under- 
estimate itself and shrink from responsibility in 
battle, is a large factor in insuring success. To be 
able to succeed and at the same time to retain that 
spirit of genuine humility which never overestimates 
itself in victory, is the best evidence that success 
has been worthily won and the surest promise that 
it will continue. 

A brief account of the experience of a young 
teacher will illustrate the feeling of pupils relative 
to the necessity of self-confidence as a factor in suc- 
cess, and may serve as a warning to teachers whose 
actions constantly indicate their lack of faith in 
their ability to succeed. This experience came one 
morning at the close of the devotional exercises 
with which the work of the school day began. A 
boy of nine or ten was called to the teacher's desk 
for a reprimand for some misconduct and was pub- 
licly accused with being the worst boy in the school. 
Such an accusation was, in itself, a serious blunder, 
as the boy naturally felt that he must show that he 
was not entirely undeserving of such a charge. This 



NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 51 

was followed by a more costly blunder by the 
teacher in the statement that he did not know what 
to do with the boy — an admission which gave to 
the boy a keen realization of his own ability to 
make trouble and of the teacher's lack of confidence 
in his ability to meet it. Then followed a proposal 
by the teacher that the boy and he change places 
in which case, the boy was asked, what he, as a 
teacher, would do with the teacher, as a pupil. This 
general question brought no reply from the boy 
whose caution might well be imitated by all teachers 
who habitually speak without thinking. The teacher 
then inquired, **Would you keep me in at recess ?'* 
to which the boy replied with an emphatic "No." 
"Would you stand me on the floor?'* asked the 
teacher, and again the prompt reply was "No." 
Sending home, whipping, and the other common 
mxcthods of punishment v/ere proposed, and each one 
met with the same reply. The teacher concluded 
his questions by asking, "What, then, would you do 
with me?" to which the boy calmly replied, "It 
seems to me if I was you and couldn't teach this 
school, I'd go and get one I could teach." 

While few teachers may receive such a frank 
answer as the one quoted from this boy, all teachers 
will do well to remember that his answer truth- 
fully expresses what all pupils think of teachers who 
doubt their ability to control their schools. 

As the one sure foundation for this faith in 
humanity, in childhood, and in self there should be 
in every teacher's soul a firm faith in God. Such 
faith has been in the past, and is today, the mightiest 



52 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

force for good in all the world. Profane as well as 
sacred literature bears testimony to its power in the 
lives of men and women. All human experience 
proves the truthfulness of the sentiment expressed 
by Bulwer-Lytton: 

"Strike from mankind the principle of faith, and man 
would have no more history than a flock of sheep." 

Down deep in our souls there is a feeling which 
is in accord with the sublime sentiments recorded 
in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews and with its 
author, we are led to say : 

"But without faith it is impossible to please him; for 
he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he 
is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him." 

There is nothing sectarian in such faith — 
nothing in it which does not appeal to both the 
judgment and conscience of an overwhelming ma- 
jority of men and women of all times and condi- 
tions. It is this faith that life is of divine origin 
and that the human soul is immortal, which gives to 
education its loftiest conception and to the teachers 
of boys and girls their highest incentive to faith- 
ful service. 

"Talk faith. The world is better off without 
Your uttered ignorance and morbid doubt. 
If you have faith in God, or man, or self, 
Say so; if not, push back upon the shelf 
Of silence, all your thoughts till faith shall come. 
No one will grieve because your lips are dumb." 



CHAPTER IV 

ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 

THE emphasis placed, in the preceding chapter, 
upon the natural characteristics of teachers, 
as essential factors in their success, does 
not signify a belief that teachers are born with a 
full and complete equipment of teaching power. To 
assume that teachers are so born is as unreasonable 
as to claim that training alone will make successful 
teachers out of all who are the recipients of it. The 
purpose of this chapter is to emphasize the equal 
importance of those acquired abilities which all suc- 
cessful teachers must possess and which result from 
education, training, and experience. 

One of the most important of these acquired 
abilities is the power to concentrate attention upon 
the subject at hand and to think logically to a 
definite and correct conclusion. The exercise of 
such power produces a type of knowledge which 
possesses certain marked characteristics. It is 
always, clear, distinct, and positive. It always 
creates an insatiable desire for more knowledge. A 
power in itself, such knowledge always reacts upon 
the thinking, of which it is largely the product, in 
such a manner as to clarify and strengthen it. Use- 
ful knowledge and conscious thinking are intimately 
related. 

(53) 



64 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

"You may know the fellow who thinks he thinks, 
Or the fellow who thinks he knows; 
But find the fellow who knows he thinks 
And you know the fellow who knows." 

"He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not; he 

is a fool, shun him. 
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, he is 

simple, teach him. 
He who knows, and knows not that he knows; he is asleep, 

wake him. 
He who knows, and knows that he knows; he is wise, 

follow him." 

A thorough study of the subjects to be taught 
is a fundamental necessity in the education of all 
teachers. The purpose of such study should be to 
develop teachers who are strong minded because 
they know that they think and who are wise leaders 
because they know that they know. 

For a most helpful discussion of the important 
problem of the development of thought power, the 
reader is referred to the comprehensive and com- 
prehensible volume entitled Thinking und Learning 
to Think by Honorable Nathan C. Schaeffer, Super- 
intendent of Public Instruction for the State of 
Pennsylvania, published hy /. B, Lippincott Com- 
pany, Philadelphia. 

Equal in importance with the ability to think 
accurately and to know positively is the ability to 
express what is thus thought and known in simple 
and direct language. Growth in teaching power 
depends in no small degree upon growth in language 
power, and the cultivation of such power should 
claim the serious attention of all who aspire to teach. 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 55 

All teachers of all subjects should have such a 
love for the English Language as will lead them 
to a keen appreciation of its importance as a 
medium for the expression of thought and also cause 
them to put forth every possible effort to increase 
their teaching power by constantly increasing their 
ability to use such language as will most simply, 
directly, and clearly express the ideas which they 
desire to convey. 

Tributes of appreciation have been paid to the 
beauty and f orcefulness of the English Language by 
many of the great scholars of the world and ready 
assent will be given to the truthfulness of the fol- 
lowing sentiment : 

"The Greek's a harp we love to hear; 
The Latin is a trumpet clear; 
Spanish like an organ swells; 
Italian rings its silver bells; 
France, with many a frolic mien, 
Tunes her sprightly violin; 
Loud the German rolls his drum. 
When Russia's clashing cymbals come; 
But Britain's sons may well rejoice. 
For English is the human voice." 

All who love the English Language and ap- 
preciate its beauty and power should help in every 
way to preserve its purity. To teachers, espe- 
cially, is intrusted this exceedingly important 
work. It is, therefore, imperative that teachers of 
all classes realize their responsibility in the use of 
English and the opportunity which comes with such 
responsibility. It should never be forgotten that 
accurate expression of thought always reacts to 



56 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

produce accurate thinking which in turn results in 
a product worthy of expression. It is fortunately- 
true that in language training, as in moral training, 
example is more forceful than precept. Because of 
this fact, the teacher's language should, in so far as 
possible, always furnish an example worthy of 
imitation. 

A common tendency of all times, and with all 
classes, especially with boys and girls in the public 
schools and students in college, is indicated by the 
use of extravagant language in the expression of 
ideas concerning the most commonplace things. 
How often we hear objects of small significance 
and events of little importance described in an 
exaggerated manner by the use of superlative 
terms. Many adjectives, which should be held in 
reserve, to be used only in an emergency, are so 
overworked on ordinary occasions that when the 
emergency arises, they are unfitted for duty. A 
language sanitarium in which overworked descrip- 
tive words and phrases could remain in quiet retire- 
ment until a real need for their use presented itself, 
would serve a useful purpose in connection with 
many lives. 

The harmful results of persistent carelessness 
in the use of language which does not accurately 
express thought are not confined to the language 
itself. Such use invariably reacts upon the think- 
ing of which the language is the inaccurate expres- 
sion. Without exception, lack of precision in lan- 
guage is indicative of loose thinking. It is, there- 
fore, highly important that teachers should develop 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 57 

by education and training the ability to use lan- 
guage with exactness, and by constant practice, 
should acquire the habit of stating precisely what 
they mean in both speaking and writing. 

All teachers should be constantly alert to pro- 
tect the language they love against the slang expres- 
sions which are ever seeking entrance to their speak- 
ing vocabularies. They should find themselves in 
hearty agreement with the sentiments of Doctor 
Holmes as expressed in the following quotation 
from The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table : 

"I think there is one habit worse than that of pun- 
ning. It is the gradual substitution of cant or slang terms 
for words which truly characterize their objects. I have 
known several very genteel idiots whose whole vocabulary 
had deliquesced into some half dozen expressions. All 
things fell into two categories — fast or slow. Man's chief 
end was to be a brick. When the great calamities of life 
overtook their friends, these last were spoken of as being 
a good deal cut up. Nine-tenths of human existence were 
summed up in the single word, bore. These expressions 
come to be the algebraic symbols of minds which have 
grown too weak or indolent to discriminate. They are the 
blank checks of intellectual bankruptcy ; — You may fill 
them with what idea you like; it makes no difference; for 
there are no funds in the treasury upon which they are 
drawn. Colleges and good-for-nothing smoking-clubs are the 
places where these conversational fungi spring up most lux- 
uriantly. Don't think I undervalue the proper use and 
application of a cant word or phrase. It adds piquancy to 
conversation as a mushroom does to a sauce. But it is no 
better than a toad-stool, odious to the sense, and poisonous 
to the intellect, when it spawns itself all over the talk of 
men and youths who are capable of talking, as it sometimes 
does. As we hear slang phraseology, it is commonly the 



58 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

dishwater from the washings of English dandyism, school- 
boy or full-grown, wrung out of a three-volume novel which 
had sopped it up, or decanted from the pictured urn of Mr. 
Verdant Green, and diluted to suit the provincial climate." 

In this quotation Doctor Holmes truly char- 
acterizes slang and accurately estimates the effect 
of its constant use upon the minds of those who are 
addicted to it. "Genteel idiots," "minds grown too 
weak or indolent to discriminate,*' and, "intellectual 
bankruptcy" are its products. While its occasional 
use is no doubt justifiable and while teachers should, 
with Doctor Holmes, not undervalue such use, the 
influence of their precept and example should 
always be against such general use of slang as must, 
indeed, be "odious to the sense and poisonous to the 
intellect" of all persons of refinement and intel- 
ligence. 

The ability to use simple language in the ex- 
pression of clear thinking is a most important factor 
in the success of all teachers. It is impossible to 
overestimate the value of the teaching power which 
depends upon the possession of such ability. To aid 
teachers in its acquirement should be one of the 
definite aims of all their education and training and 
to increase such ability should be the constant pur- 
pose of all who teach. All persons who are unable 
to tell what they think or know in simple language 
are seriously handicapped in the work of teaching 
any class of students and should be forever pro- 
hibited from teaching teachers, because of the far 
reaching injury which may result therefrom. No 
doubt the enforcement of such a prohibition would 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 59 

create a number of vacancies in some normal schools 
and teachers' colleges, but since a position occupied 
by a teacher who cannot use language which can be 
understood by his students, is really vacant any- 
how, no loss would result from the creation of such 
vacancies. 

In a most delightful little volume entitled A Joy- 
some History of Education is found the word, 
"Pedaguese," coined by the author of the History 
to characterize the language used by entirely too 
many who attempt to write or speak on educational 
subjects, and who, to quote the words of the author, 
**have given their own mysterious meanings to so 
many common expressions, that it is now absolutely 
necessary to have a word which shall name this new 
language" — a language which "isn't English ; and 
to consider it such would be to convict the writer 
of drivelling idiocy." 

To serve as a warning of what may come to a 
teacher, writer, or speaker who persists in giving 
"mysterious meanings" to commonplace things or 
who attempts to conceal entire absence of thought 
by the use of ponderous words, the examples of 
"Pedaguese" contained in A Joysome History of 
Education are heartily commended. 

While there is something amusing in the use 
of "Pedaguese," its frequent appearance in peda- 
gogical literature has its serious side. Quite often 
earnest teachers, unable to comprehend the meaning 
of such language, are thrown into a condition of 
complete discouragement which leads them to doubt 
their ability to comprehend. As a result of such 



60 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

discouragement and doubt, they quit reading, stop 
thinking, and cease growing, or else fall into the 
habit of using meaningless language, themselves. 

It is pleasing and helpful to turn from a con- 
sideration of such meaningless language, which 
should be studiously avoided by all teachers who 
have any ideas to express and who desire to express 
them with clearness and force, to the language of 
simplicity as used by all really great thinkers and 
effective writers and speakers. No better example 
of the use of simple language to express profound 
thought can be found than the example furnished 
by Lincoln's Gettysburg address : 

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 
forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, 
and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created 
equal. 

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing 
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so 
dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle- 
field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of 
that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave 
their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether 
fitting and proper that we should do this. 

"But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we can- 
not consecrate — we cannot hallow this ground. The brave 
men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated 
it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world 
will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but 
it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the 
living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished 
work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly 
advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the 
great task remaining before us — that from these honored 
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 61 

they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here 
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — 
that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of free- 
dom — and that government of the people, by the people, 
for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 

An analysis of this address to determine its 
language structure will be of interest to all teachers 
who are striving to acquire teaching power by a 
mastery of English, as well as to all pupils who are 
old enough to appreciate the meaning and force of 
words fittingly used. 

Some of the interesting facts revealed by such 
an analysis are: 

Total number of words used, including the articles 

"a" and "the" 268 

Words of one syllable 196 

Words of two syllables 46 

Words of three syllables 18 

Words of four syllables 8 

Or stated in percents to nearest integer: 

Words of one syllable 73 per cent 

Words of two syllables 17 " 

Words of three syllables 7 " 

Words of four syllables 3 " 

Total number of different v/ords used 139 

Different words of one syllable 83 

Different words of two syllables 36 

Different words of three syllables 15 

Different words of four syllables 5 



62 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Or stated in percents to nearest integer : 

Different words of one syllable 60 per cent 

Different words of two syllables 26 " 

Different words of three syllables 11 " 

Different words of four syllables 3 " 

While Lincoln was, no doubt, specially endowed 
with great natural ability to think clearly and log- 
ically, there is also no doubt that his exceptional 
ability so to think and so to express his thoughts in 
language of such marvelous simplicity was acquired 
by the most persistent self-schooling and laborious 
practice. The method by which he thus trained 
himself to think and to express thought is plainly 
indicated in the following summary of the historic 
Interview of the Reverend John P. Gulliver with 
Mr. Lincoln the morning after his speech at Nor- 
wich, Connecticut, a few m.onths before his nom- 
ination for the presidency in 1860. 

The fact that this summary was prepared from 
a photostat copy of the page of The Independent 
dated New York, Thursday, September 1, 1864, and 
containing the original Interview is a guarantee of 
the accuracy of the statements quoted therein. 

In the opening paragraphs of Mr. Gulliver's 
Interview, he tells of the impression made upon him 
by Mr. Lincoln's remarkable address and of his 
introduction to him the following morning at the 
railroad station while v/aiting for the train. After 
boarding the train they entered into a conversation 
about the address in which Mr. Lincoln was asked 
to explain how he gained his "unusual power of 
'putting things,' " the request being accompanied 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 63 

with the observation that "It must have been a mat- 
ter of education," and the question, "What has your 
education been?" To this request Mr. Lincoln re- 
plied : 

"Well, as to education, the newspapers are correct — 
I never went to school more than six months in my life. 
But, as you say, this must be a product of culture in some 
form. I have been putting the question you ask me, to 
myself, while you have been talking. I can say this, that, 
among my earliest recollections, I remember how, when a 
mere child, I used to get irritated when anybody talked to 
me in a way I could not understand. I don't think I ever 
got angry at anything else in my life. But that always dis- 
turbed my temper, and has ever since. I can remember 
going to my little bedroom, after hearing the neighbors talk 
of an evening with my father, and spending no small part 
of the night walking up and down, and trying to make out 
what was the exact meaning of some of their, to me, dark 
sayings. I could not sleep, though I often tried to, when I 
got on such a hunt after an idea, until I had caught it; 
and when I thought I had got it, I was not satisfied until I 
had repeated it over and over, until I had put it in lan- 
guage plain enough, as I thought, for any boy I knew to 
comprehend. This was a kind of passion with me, and it 
has stuck by me, for I am never easy now, when I am 
handling a thought, till I have bounded it north and bounded 
it south and bounded it east and bounded it west. Perhaps 
that accounts for the characteristic you observe in my 
speeches, though I never put the two things together 
before." 

One more quotation from this Interview will 
serve to show that Mr. Lincoln, in later years, still 
kept up the self-training which made him such a 
master of reasoning and of clearness and simplicity 
of statement. In response to the questions, "Did 



64 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

you not have a law education?" and "How did you 
prepare for your profession ?" he replied : 

"Oh, yes! I 'read law,' as the phrase is; that is I 
became a lawyer's clerk in Springfield, and copied tedious 
documents, and picked up what I could of law in the inter- 
vals of other work. But your question reminds me of a bit 
of education I had, which I am bound in honesty to mention. 
In the course of my law-reading I constantly came upon the 
word demonstrate. I thought, at first, that I understood its 
meaning, but soon became satisfied that I did not. I said 
to myself, 'What do I do when I demonstrate more than 
when I reason or prove? How does demonstration differ 
from any other proof?' I consulted Webster's Dictionary. 
That told of 'certain proof,' 'Proof beyond the possibility of 
doubt;' but I could form no idea what sort of proof that 
was. I thought a great many things were proved beyond a 
possibility of doubt, without recourse to any such extraor- 
dinary process of reasoning as I understood 'demonstration' 
to be. I consulted all the dictionaries and books of refer- 
ence I could find, but with no better results. You might as 
well have defined blue to a blind man. At last I said, 
'Lincoln, you can never make a lawyer if you do not under- 
stand what demonstrate means;' and I left my situation in 
Springfield, went home to my father's house and staid there 
till I could give any proposition in the six books of Euclid 
at sight. I then found out what 'demonstrate' means, and 
went back to my law studies." 

In this Interview will be found the secrets of 
Lincoln's ability to use language with such sim- 
plicity, clearness, and definiteness. In the first 
place his desire to comprehend all that was said in 
his presence was so intense that any failure on his 
part to understand made him uncomfortable, im- 
patient, and even angry. The mental pictures pre- 
sented by him of his boyhood struggles, in his lonely 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 65 

room, when on the hunt of an idea, determined to 
think out the hidden meaning of some conversation 
to which he had listened, and of his determination, 
when a law student, not to proceed further yAth his 
law reading until he knew for himself what "demon- 
strate" meant, are most impressive and suggestive. 
It should also be noted that when he went on the 
hunt of an idea, he never gave up the chase or ceased 
the struggle to comprehend, until he ''caught the 
idea," Failure "to catch the idea" or to come even 
within hailing distance of an idea is the cause of 
much of the high sounding, but utterly meaningless 
language used by some writers and speakers on 
educational subjects. 

The final step in his process of self-education 
and training is shown in the persistent drill to 
which he subjected himself, by bounding the "caught 
idea" north, south, east, and west, and by calling 
into use every illustration or anecdote at his com- 
mand, to enable him to tell what he had learned to 
comprehend with so much difficulty to the other 
boys (and later on to the people of a nation) in such 
a simple manner as would make it perfectly plain 
to them. 

By this persistent training, Lincoln gained the 
power of "eloquent simplicity" which characterized 
all his utterances. His use of English well illus- 
trates Emerson's statement: "Eloquence is the 
power to translate a truth into language perfectly 
intelligible to the person to whom you speak." 

It is only by a similar process of persistent 
training that language power can be attained to any 



66 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

degree by a teacher. There must be a similar ear- 
nest desire to understand fully and to comprehend 
definitely the subject under consideration, a similar 
''hunt" for ideas to express, and a similar effort to 
clothe these ideas in language so plain and simple 
as to make them perfectly intelligible to the hearer 
or reader. 

Several years since a young man was teaching 
his first school in a country district. His educa- 
tional capital was small but his desire to add to it 
was large. All the lessons to be taught to the 
children were carefully prepared in advance and 
an earnest effort was made to master the subject 
matter of each lesson so that it could be presented 
with clearness and simplicity. In this work of 
preparation a serious difficulty presented itself in a 
geography lesson relating to the explanation of the 
change of the seasons. The temptation was strong 
to follow the line of least resistance, to do the 
easiest thing, and to teach the lesson to the children 
as it had been taught to the teacher, by having the 
explanation in the book memorized and recited. In 
this way time would be saved and effort economized. 
Should the children at some future time be required 
to pass an examination for a teacher's certificate, 
and should such examination ask for an explanation 
for the change of seasons, as is usually the case, the 
memorized definition would meet all the require- 
ments, as it had done for the teacher when he 
secured his certificate. 

The teacher felt, however, that he would like 
to understand the reasons given in the book for the 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 67 

change of seasons, and set about in earnest "to hunt 
for the idea" which was fundamental to such under- 
standing. Fortunately no expensive apparatus was 
at hand and he was compelled to provide his own. 
This apparatus consisted of a globe-shaped collar 
box to represent the earth and a piece of candle, 
secured at his boarding place, for a sun. The clos- 
ing of the board-shutters of the school house made 
the room dark enough to bring out the full effect of 
the planetary movements about to take place and 
secret enough to insure against undue publicity in 
the "research" work to be carried on. The collar 
box was provided with a wire pole and the minia- 
ture earth was then inclined the right number of 
degrees to the plane of its orbit. The candle was 
lighted and the "solar system" was set in motion. 

With persistent determination, born of an ear- 
nest desire to understand the statements made in 
the geography, the young teacher patiently worked 
to find out for himself why the tropics and the polar 
circles are placed where they are, why the seasons 
change as they do, why days are long and nights are 
short in the summer and nights are long and days 
are short in the winter, and why days and nights 
are equal at certain times. After repeated attempts 
to solve these mysteries, he finally "caught the idea" 
and the real joy which came with the discovery can 
never be forgotten by that teacher. The first step 
had been taken toward making the idea plain to the 
pupils. 

Then followed a careful consideration of the 
best means of presenting the lesson to the class so 



68 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

that the boys and girls as well as the teacher could 
understand it. It is needless to state that there 
was an immediate revival of interest in the subject 
of geography in that school, as there will always be 
a revival of interest in any subject in any school, 
when the teacher has so mastered the lesson to be 
taught that he has ideas rather than mere words to 
present, and can, as the result of such mastery, pre- 
sent his ideas to the pupils with clearness, definite- 
ness, and simplicity. 

Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the 
necessity of the use of such language by teachers 
as will be perfectly plain and definite in its meaning 
to pupils. One word not understood by the pupils 
will often break the thought connection in a recita- 
tion, between the instructor and the class, thereby 
making the entire recitation meaningless and, there- 
fore, worthless. If, perchance, the word not under- 
stood is caught up by the pupils, instead of the idea 
it was intended to express, the result will be that 
the statement thus misunderstood is memorized 
with no thought at all as to its meaning ; or a wrong 
meaning will be given to it which leads to an erro- 
neous and sometimes ridiculous misunderstanding. 
Many of the blunders in recitation and examination 
credited to the stupidity of pupils should be charged 
to poor instruction by teachers whose thought is not 
clear and whose language is, therefore, indefinite 
and meaningless. 

The following incident will serve to illustrate 
the importance of a full and complete understanding 
of the meaning of words in teaching a reading les- 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 69 

son to children. The incident occurred in a teachers' 
institute in connection with the presentation, by an 
instructor in primary work, of a lesson in the second 
reader, to a group of children, who had been in 
school the previous year and who were gathered in 
from the street, and prevailed upon to give a few 
hours of their vacation time for experimental pur- 
poses. 

With rare skill, this instructor, a woman of 
varied and uniformly successful experience, pro- 
ceeded with the delicate and difficult task of teach- 
ing this group of children in the presence of a large 
audience of teachers. Her kindly tone of voice and 
quiet manner soon made the children feel at home. 
Apparently unconscious of the presence of hundreds 
of interested listeners, the children talked eagerly 
and naturally with their teacher about the affairs 
which touched their little lives. The reading lesson 
was then taken up and its subject matter talked over 
in a familiar and interesting manner. The difficult 
words which were new to the children were placed 
upon the blackboard, properly marked for pronun- 
ciation, their meaning explained in a simple, direct 
way, and their proper use illustrated by sen- 
tences. The word ''present" was prominent in the 
lesson. Its meaning was really the key to a correct 
understanding of much that the lesson contained. 
The children had spelled it, pronounced it, and used 
it in a number of sentences. To some teachers in 
that audience there seemed to be a waste of time in 
getting at the meaning of the word. Finally after 
all the preliminary drill, the teacher asked the chil- 



70 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

dren to tell in their own language what they thought 
a "present'* was. At once there came from a volun- 
teer the statement, "A present is something you give 
some body." Then the teacher, whose skill and tact 
prompted her to use every means to bring out the 
meaning of words, picked up an empty crayon box 
near by and, holding it aloft before the class, said, 
"Is this a present?" The children replied in the 
negative with great unanimity and emphasis. Then 
said the teacher "What shall I do with it to make 
a present out of it?" presuming, of course, that 
some child would give the expected answer, "Give 
it to some one and it will be a present." But the 
unexpected, which can usually be expected in school, 
occurred. 

A little girl whose frail body, wan face, and 
general appearance indicated that she came from a 
home of poverty, held up her tiny hand as an indica- 
tion that she had an answer. The teacher told the 
child how glad she was to see her ready to answer, 
and then asked her to tell the class and the institute 
what should be done with the crayon box to make a 
present out of it. In a timid manner, but with a 
voice clear and distinct, the little girl replied — 
"Cover it with plush." Her reply was a revelation 
to all the teachers in that institute. It was evident 
that the meaning put into the word, "present," by 
this child was the natural outgrowth of experiences 
in the home from which she came. In that home she 
had undoubtedly seen little gifts made by her mother 
or sisters by covering boxes with plush, because 
there was no money with which to buy expensive 



ACQUIRED ABILITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS 71 

presents, and to her childish mind, her definition 
was ample to include all presents. The teacher then 
made plain the fuller meaning of the word. With- 
out such explanation, the child would have read the 
lesson with her own idea of a present in mind, and 
would have failed to grasp its larger significance. 

While acquired abilities other than those named 
in this chapter will, no doubt, suggest themselves to 
the reader, the ability to think clearly and the ability 
to express the results of such thinking in simple, 
direct language are of fundamental importance in 
the equipment of teachers for their work. Without 
such equipment no person, whatever his reputation 
for scholarship may be, is fitted to teach. 



CHAPTER V 

THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 

^'^ F I cease to become better, I shall soon cease 
I to be good" is a suggestive sentiment credited 
-*- to Oliver Cromwell. While this sentiment 
was probably intended by its author to apply to 
moral and spiritual life and growth, there can be 
no doubt that it also applies with equal truthfulness 
and force to the professional life and growth of 
teachers. Important as are their natural character- 
istics and acquired abilities, their professional life 
and growth are even more important. Essential as 
are their academic education and professional train- 
ing, their continued self -improvement, after they 
have been educated and trained, is even more essen- 
tial. The opportunities for such professional growth 
and self-improvement are abundant. The attitude 
of iteachers toward these opportunities and the use 
which they make of them, furnish a fair standard 
by which to judge their merits. 

One of the most important of these opportuni- 
ties for professional growth and self-improvement 
is found in the Teachers' Reading Circle which has 
an existence in some form in nearly all the states 
of the Union. Since the Reading Circle is now so 
universally recognized as an important factor in the 
professional growth of teachers, it seems appro- 

(72) 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 73 

priate, in this connection, to call attention to the 
history of its organization. 

To Mrs. D. L. Williams of Delaware, Ohio, is 
due the honor of first proposing a State Course of 
Reading for Teachers, in an address delivered before 
the Ohio State Teachers' Association, July 6, 1882. 
The subject of this unusually helpful and inspirit- 
ing address was Young Teachers and Their Calling. 
So important is this address and so applicable to 
existing conditions at present, as well as conditions 
which prevailed when it was delivered a third of a 
century ago, that a brief summary of its contents is 
given. I 

It contained first, an earnest appeal to all teach- 
ers with prospective teachers among their pupils, 
"to show them a well managed and well taught 
school," which might serve as a model to be imitated, 
and to make such pupils "the special objects of their 
professional attention." Examiners of teachers 
were urged to protect "the young teacher who has 
made conscientious and laborious preparation" by 
such treatment as will insure recognition of his 
merits, and to use "firmness in rejecting incom- 
petence." The extreme importance of showing prac- 
tical appreciation of real merit in young teachers 
by regular increase of salary and increasing per- 
manency of position was impressed upon school di- 
rectors and superintendents, and deserved emphasis 
was placed upon the duty which "the profession in 
general owes to the young persons entering it, in 
the professional spirit." The closing paragraph of 
this address which led to the establishment of the 



74 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Ohio Teachers' Reading Circle, is of such interest in 
its relation to the reading circle movement as to 
warrant its republication : 

"My 'lastly' I scarcely dare venture upon lest it be 
dismissed as visionary and impracticable. For many years 
I have been entertaining a theory that a course of reading, 
reaching* through several years, might be instituted under 
the management of this Association, with its annual exami- 
nations and reports at this annual reunion; appropriate 
honors being preferred at its completion. If such a course 
of reading, partly professional, could be made available for 
young teachers, it seems to me it would be of extreme value. 
Since the Chautauqua Literary Course has been such an 
eminent success, I have more confidence than ever in the 
feasibility of such a plan. But it would involve labor, and 
would require self-sacrifice, on the part of the wisest, and 
most capable, and, therefore, the most overworked members 
of the Association, to make it a success. I doubt, however, 
whether any work we can do would pay a larger dividend. 
I do not dare, in closing, Mr. President, to move for a com- 
mittee to report upon this matter. I fear it is too soon. 
But in the discussion which follows this paper, I shall be 
glad to hear the objections which suggest themselves to the 
members of the Association. Would an 'Ohio State Teach- 
ers' Course of Reading' meet a need of the young teachers 
of the State, and incite them to self-improvement; and, if 
so, is such a course of reading practicable?" 

The address was discussed by a number of the 
leading teachers and superintendents attending the 
meeting, nearly all of whom heartily endorsed the 
plan, proposed by Mrs. Williams, of establishing a 
State Course of Reading for Teachers. This dis- 
cussion was followed by the adoption of the follow- 
ing resolution: 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 75 

"Resolved, That the Association heartily approves the 
suggestion made at the conclusion of the paper read by Mrs. 
Williams, concerning a Course of Reading for Teachers. 

"That Mrs. D. L. Williams, Hon. J. J. Burns, and Dr. 
John Hancock be appointed a committee with full power to 
mature a plan and to put it in operation; and to make a 
report of the same to this Association at its next Annual 
Meeting." 

At the next meeting of the Ohio State Teachers' 
Association, held July, 1883, the committee submit- 
ted a report which was adopted by the Association. 
Certain parts of this report, quoted in the following 
paragraphs, are full of interest as relating to the 
history of the establishment of the Reading Circle 
and as expressing in the best possible way the pur- 
pose and value of systematic reading for teachers. 

"Your committee believes such a course of reading- 
practicable, and that just at this time, when a membership 
in a Reading Club, or a Literary Society, is almost essential 
to social recognition, such an enterprise may very easily be 
inaugurated, and successfully carried forward. * * * 

"In such organizations (Reading Circles) the enthu- 
siasm and culture of a few leading minds quicken all that 
come in contact with them, and lift up standards of excel- 
lence for all to strive towards. As a plan is adopted to 
which all must conform, reading is methodically done, and 
if such a plan is followed for any length of time there is at 
least a possibility that a habit of reading may be formed. 
The reading is likely to be done thoroughly, because it is 
done in the expectation of being questioned upon the mat- 
ter read, and the reader does not wish to fail. It is done 
con amore, because a sufficient number are engaged in it to 
give zest to what otherwise might be regarded as, at best, 
a laborious duty. It brings teachers into intellectual com- 
panionship and sympathy, and so gives to each the intel- 



76 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

lectual support and self-respecting independence of all. The 
strong are made better and stronger by what they impart, 
and the weak are unconsciously helped to a higher plane 
of thinking and doing by intellectual contact with those 
stronger than themselves." 

This admirable report wisely recommended that 
the Course of Reading be in part professional and 
in part literary; that it be four years in length; 
that it "be under the care and direction of Ohio 
Teachers' Association;" and **that the Association 
proceed at once to take the necessary steps to in- 
augurate an organization among the teachers of 
Ohio for reading and study, to be known as the 
'Ohio Teachers' Reading Circle.' " 

The recommendations of this report were 
promptly endorsed and executed, and before the 
adjournment of the Association a "Board of Con- 
trol," consisting of eight members, was chosen, and 
the "First Year's Course of Reading," and in so far 
as can be determined from any reliable record, the 
first course of reading to be adopted for the teachers 
of a state, was announced as follows : 

"I. In Pedagogy, one of the following: Hail- 
man's History of Pedagogy, Krusi's Pestalozzi, 
Quick's Educational Reformers. The committee also 
expect the members to read at least one educational 
periodical. 

"n. In Poetry, Longfellow, Whittier, or 
Lowell — life and poetical works. 

"III. In American History, the discovery and 
early settlement of North America, to 1776; and 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 77 

we recommend under this head, Irving's Columbus, 
Parkman's Histories, Bancroft, and Higginson." 

Since this beginning over three decades ago, 
the Teachers' Reading Circle movement has grown 
until it now includes all sections of the country. In 
many states, the books are carefully selected by a 
special committee appointed by the State Teachers' 
Association or some other properly constituted au- 
thority and the course so selected is uniform 
throughout the state. In other states the books to 
be read by the teachers of a county are recom- 
mended or selected either by the county superin- 
tendent or by a committee appointed by him for that 
purpose. 

In the absence of carefully kept records in many 
states and counties, it is not possible to determine 
with certainty or even to estimate with any degree 
of accuracy how many teachers have availed them- 
selves of the excellent opportunity furnished by 
these courses of reading as an efficient means ,of 
professional growth. There can be no doubt, how- 
ever, that hundreds of thousands of teachers have 
been directly benefited in this way and that many 
additional thousands have, in a smaller measure, 
been indirectly helped. In Ohio, the "Mother State," 
the average annual enrollment of teachers who have 
read with more or less thoroughness one or more 
of the courses adopted, since the work was in- 
augurated in 1883, is at least five thousand. Many 
teachers, principals, and superintendents, now in 
active service in prominent positions, have carefully 



78 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

read and studied all the books adopted, and in their 
libraries will be found the "Reading Circle Books" 
which are usually the most prized, the best read, 
and most completely digested volumes in their 
possession. 

While the Teachers' Reading Circle was or- 
ganized for the purpose of helping the young and 
inexperienced teachers, it is quite evident, as in- 
dicated in the preceding paragraph, that its benefits 
have not been confined to such teachers, but have 
been extended to teachers of all classes, who have 
realized the need of continuous growth and con- 
stant self-improvement. As predicted in the report 
of the committee setting forth the promised benefits 
of the proposed organization of a Reading Circle, 
the enthusiasm and culture of a few leading minds 
have quickened all that came in contact with them 
and these leading minds have, in turn, themselves, 
been quickened into clearer thinking and more sym- 
pathetic feeling, as a result of the unselfiish service 
they have given to others. All teachers who have 
availed themselves of the opportunity furnished by 
the Reading Circle to read and think together, have 
thereby been brought into intellectual sympathy and 
companionship. 

In view of the professional growth and per- 
sonal culture which are assured to all who actively 
participate in Reading Circle Work, it is difficult to 
understand why any teachers who prize such growth 
and culture, should neglect to take advantage of the 
opportunities thus offered for self-improvement. It 
is quite probable that such neglect is primarily due 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 79 

to a failure to realize the need of such self-improve- 
ment and that the alleged reasons offered by some 
teachers for not taking advantage of such oppor- 
tunities are really excuses born of laziness or 
indifference. 

Occasionally teachers will claim that they know 
their own individual and professional needs much 
better than those needs can possibly be known by 
any Reading Circle Board or Committee and that 
they, therefore, prefer to pursue courses of reading 
of their own selection. Usually such teachers never 
make such selection and do not read at all. Even if 
they do read, they thereby exhibit a type of selfish- 
ness which is destructive to that professional spirit 
which all true teachers are anxious to encourage and 
to cultivate. 

There are always some teachers who attempt 
to justify their refusal to take part in the work of 
the Teachers' Reading Circle by the claim that they 
are members of a Chautauqua Circle, or some circle 
of a similar character, and that all their time is 
occupied in reading the course adopted by such cir- 
cle. While such membership and reading are to be 
commended, no really professional teacher will at- 
tempt to substitute them for membership in a 
Teachers' Reading Circle and the reading of the 
books prescribed therein. What professional stand- 
ing could a lawyer hope to attain or maintain, who 
would ignore the demands of his profession, pay no 
attention to the latest court reports and judicial 
decisions, and then attempt to justify such action 
and neglect on his part by the interest he might have 



80 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

in a course of reading of a general literary char- 
acter? Such a lawyer would soon be without clients. 
Any physician who would similarly ignore the de- 
mands of his profession, and who would cease to 
inform himself upon the latest discoveries in med- 
ical science and the prevention or cure of diseases, 
would soon cease to practice medicine because of a 
lack of patients. Unfortunately, the teachers who 
take no interest in their professional growth and 
improvement and who ignore such reading and study 
as are necessary to such growth and improvement, 
are permitted in too many instances to continue 
their practice on the poor children who are not per- 
mitted to choose their teachers as clients and 
patients are permitted to choose their lawyers and 
physicians. Many professional people, including 
teachers, so economize their time as to enable them 
to pursue both professional and general courses of 
reading and thereby not only insure their profes- 
sional growth and improvement, but also guard 
against a type of narrowness and bigotry which 
sometimes characterize those who never read or 
think outside of their special work. 

Occasionally teachers will plead financial in- 
ability to purchase the required books as an excuse 
for their failure to engage in the work of the Teach- 
ers' Reading Circle. In view of the low salaries 
received by most teachers, this excuse seems, at first 
thought, to be worthy of some consideration. As a 
rule, it is imperative that teachers exercise the most 
rigid economy in all their expenses. There are al- 
ways many things which they would like to do and 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 81 

in which they could engage with both pleasure and 
profit, but which are denied to them, because of an 
expense which they cannot afford. But there are 
some things which no teacher who desires to grow 
and to improve, can afford not to do. Certainly no 
teacher, unless under financial stress due to circum- 
stances beyond control, can afford not to add to his 
own library each year a few good books to be made 
a part of his life equipment by careful reading and 
study. 

The most unreasonable excuse offered by teach- 
ers for failure to read systematically and persist- 
ently is lack of time. It is true that teachers are 
busy people, that they often have unusual demands 
made upon their time and strength, and that they 
have numerous and varied duties to perform. It is 
also true that, with proper organization and system 
in connection with their work, under normal condi- 
tions all reasonable demands can be promptly met 
and all necessary duties satisfactorily performed, 
and some time be saved each day to be used in read- 
ing and study for self-improvement. It is the privi- 
lege and duty of all teachers so to plan their work 
in the school and for the school as to insure at least 
an hour or two each day for such reading and study. 
If the determination so to plan is sufficiently strong 
and persistent, satisfactory results will invariably 
follow. In the following allotment of time, each 
need of the day is liberally provided for. 

For teaching, six hours ; planning and prepar- 
ing the lessons to be taught, three hours ; meals, eat- 
ing and healthful relaxation following, three hours ; 



82 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

sleep, eight hours ; resting, recreation, and exercise, 
two hours ; — in all twenty-two hours. 

This leaves two hours each day which can be 
and should be used by the teacher for self -improve- 
ment. The teacher's program should devote these 
hours to reading and study with the same regularity 
and persistence as other hours are devoted to teach- 
ing, planning and preparing lessons, eating, sleep- 
ing, resting, and exercise, and nothing but dire 
necessity should be permitted to interfere with this 
program. Teachers, like all other individuals who 
desire to grow, must have a definite plan for read- 
ing and study and stick to it. 

The truth is that no profession, vocation, or cajl- 
ing, furnishes better opportunities for self -improve- 
ment by means of reading and study than the oppor- 
tunities which come to the teacher. In addition to 
the time which can be saved and utilized for such 
purpose each day, the weekly Saturday vacation day 
and the months of at least partial leisure, which 
come with the summer vacation, will be carefully 
improved by all teachers who are really in earnest 
in their efforts to become better equipped for their 
work. In the majority of instances, it will be found 
that all teachers who have attained a high degree of 
success, owe such success in a large measure to 
private reading and study pursued in spare mo- 
ments saved by careful economy of their time. 

Really busy people, in any walk of life, seldom 
excuse themselves for a failure to perform duty 
by pleading a lack of time. They are the people who 
usually can and do find time for the many duties 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 83 

imposed upon them. They are usually the first to 
respond to the demands of the church, the com- 
munity, and the state. Men and women who have 
nothing to do are usually so busy doing nothing that 
it is useless to ask them to do anything. 

A young colored student who was about to 
graduate from a theological seminary, in a letter to 
the young woman whom he intended to marry, de- 
scribed himself as follows : 

"I am a gentleman of leisure, floating upon the waves 
of circumstance. My life, like the remainder of my race, 
is one constant, monotonous, multiplicity of recapitulated 
nothingness." 

Such persons are not confined to the colored 
race. It is pitifully true that there are some 
teachers, whose lives, in so far as any systematic 
attempt at growth or improvement is concerned, are 
also "one constant, monotonous, multiplicity of re- 
capitulated nothingness." Such teachers are never 
able to find time to read or to study. 

Instead of offering excuses for failure to join 
in the work of the Teachers' Reading Circle, all 
teachers who really desire to grow in knowledge and 
wisdom, quickly recognize the benefits which come 
from reading carefully selected books, along with 
other teachers. They keenly realize the value of 
companionship in their reading and thinking and 
they, therefore, eagerly take advantage of the op- 
portunity, afforded by membership in a good Read- 
ing Circle, to talk over what has been read and to 
exchange ideas regarding the views and sentiments 



84 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

expressed by the author of the book under con- 
sideration. 

How to read a book so as to get from it the 
largest amount of useful information and lofty in- 
spiration and, in the getting, to develop right habits 
of thought and study, merits careful consideration 
by all teachers who value the privilege of reading 
for self-improvement. Gratitude for the helpful 
suggestions and wise directions given by a friend to 
a young teacher of a country school many years ago, 
relative to his reading, coupled with an earnest 
desire to pass on these suggestions and directions to 
other teachers and students, prompts the writing of 
the following paragraphs which briefly summarize 
a valuable experience in the life of that teacher. 

This friend was the late Honorable LeRoy D. 
Brown, who at one time served as State Commis- 
sioner of Schools in Ohio, but who at the time 
referred to was superintendent of schools in Eaton, 
Ohio. The young teacher was much surprised, some- 
what pleased, and not a little embarrassed to receive 
an invitation from the superintendent of the county 
seat schools to take dinner with him when attending 
a meeting of the County Teachers' Association. 
What was served for dinner and the method of dis- 
posing of it, whether in accord with the most ap- 
proved etiquette of the day or not, has long since 
passed out of mind, but the **after dinner" con- 
versation which took place in the library will 
never be forgotten. The young teacher still viv- 
idly recalls the impression made upon him by the 
large number of well selected books which bore 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 85 

their own evidence of having been carefully read 
and thoughtfully studied. This evidence was seen 
in the copious notes and comments neatly recorded 
on the blank pages of the different volumes. 

After a brief inspection of the library, Mr. 
Brown, with a directness of purpose which char- 
acterized him in a marked way, asked the young 
teacher what he was reading. The question was as 
embarrassing to him then as it would be to too many 
teachers today — not alone to teachers of the much 
abused and too little appreciated country schools 
but to some teachers of the grades in the towns and 
cities, and to others who like to be called "pro- 
fessor" in the high schools, normal schools, colleges 
and universities ; not alonq to those who are living 
a precarious professional life on the shortest time 
certificate, but to some who have been "exposed" to 
an education for the regulation period of years and 
who have a framed certificate of such "exposure" in 
the form of a diploma which, for all non-reading, 
nonngrowing, teachers, ought to be changed for a 
certificate of professional death and burial to be 
promptly issued and used by the educational au- 
thorities for the benefit of the boys and girls in the 
schools in which such impostors pretend to teach. 

The embarrassment of the question was due to 
the simple fact that truthfulness compelled the 
young teacher to reply that he was not reading much 
of anything, upon which humiliating confession, 
Mr. Brown proceeded to urge upon his youthful 
guest the absolute necessity of systematic reading 
and study of some of the best books as an essential 



86 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

means of growth and development, and the absolute 
certainty of intellectual decay, if such reading and 
study were not persisted in. This earnest- appeal to 
read the best books was supplemented by some val- 
uable suggestions as to how to read them, which 
may be briefly outlined as follows : 

1. Always read with pencil and notebook at hand. 

2. Neatly mark in the book which is being read, 
each suggestive statement of fact, important ref- 
erence or conclusion, or beautiful sentiment, which 
specially arouses interest, arrests thought, or 
challenges attention, with number of page on 
which each is found, and record in notebook by 
means of some brief notation which will be intel- 
ligible in subsequent reviews of the book. Of 
course, this suggestion implies that the book read 
has something in it worth marking and noting, 
and that the reader has a sufficient amount of 
intelligence and concentration of mind to discover 
the things which are worth while. 

3. Carefully review the book thus read from the 
markings and notes made, and then record in 
ink, on the blank leaves found in the volume, the 
revised notes resulting from such review. 

Experience teaches that to carry out these sug- 
gestions with any degree of completeness, books 
must be read with thoughtful care and reasonable 
time be given to the reading. There is, perhaps, an 
occasional genius who can take in a page at a glance 
and quickly assimilate all the mental food which a 
volume contains. But ordinary folks, such as most 
of us are, need to form the habit of reading slowly 
and meditatively in order that the mental digestive 
apparatus may properly "function." By no means 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 87 

is it to be inferred that there should be no reading 
for mere pastime or restful recreation. All brain 
toilers, especially teachers whose work is peculiarly 
exhausting, should sometimes read books which re^ 
quire little thought but which are, nevertheless, up- 
lifting in their moral tone and helpful in the 
optimistic view of life which they present. For- 
tunately such books are to be found and they should 
have a place in every teacher's library. 

To read as suggested also necessitates that the 
reader own the books which he reads; for, of 
course, no one who really appreciates the courtesy 
of the loan of a book will either mark it or keep it. 
While access to good public libraries should always 
be taken advantage of and should be highly appre- 
ciated by teachers who must depend upon such 
libraries for the use of many books of reference and 
other volumes which they cannot afford to purchase 
or may not care to own, it is doubtful whether any 
teacher will ever grow strong on the reading of bor- 
rowed books. The teacher of real power is never 
the bookless teacher. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 

(Concluded) 

THE teachers' institute furnishes another val- 
uable opportunity for the professional 
growth and self-improvement of teachers. 
Originally the chief purpose of the institute was to 
supplement the academic training of teachers. In 
the fulfillment of this purpose, it was really a type 
of extension school for the better education of such 
teachers as had not enjoyed the advantages fur- 
nished by a good school. Often this extension school 
was in session for several weeks and the entire time 
was devoted to the preparation and recitation of reg- 
ularly assigned lessons in the branches required for 
a common school certificate. Later on the institute 
was held for a shorter period, and while the subjects 
taught in the common schools were still given the 
larger part of the attention of instructors, a new 
emphasis was placed upon the method of teaching 
these subjects in the schools. Today the institute 
is held for only a week, or, in some states, for only 
a day or two, and the purpose is no longer informa- 
tional, either in knowledge or method, but inspira- 
tional. 

In several states, attendance upon teachers' in- 
stitutes is no longer optional with the teacher, but 
compulsory. In such states, the teachers are paid 

(88) 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 89 

from ten to fifteen dollars for the week's attendance, 
and, in at least one state (Pennsylvania) a teacher 
who fails to attend and who has no valid excuse for 
such failure, forfeits not only the payment for the 
week's attendance but also an additional equal 
amount in deduction of salary for the month suc- 
ceeding the institute. 

It is occasionally asked whether the teachers' 
institute pays professionally; whether the benefits 
received warrant the outlay made. No really earnest, 
progressive, professional, studious, growing teacher 
is in any doubt on this point. To such at teacher a 
good institute is a source of life and inspiration. 
It may not always be possible to enumerate in a 
specific manner the benefits which have been gained 
by attendance upon the institute. But thousands 
of teachers of long experience will bear testimony 
as to the help derived from such attendance; to the 
feeling that they cannot well go through the hard 
work of the school year without the inspiration that 
always comes, not only from the work of the in- 
structors and the other exercises of the regular pro- 
gram, but also from the sympathetic association with 
other teachers, whose aims and purposes and am- 
bitions and difficulties are identical with their own. 

The value of teachers' institutes, the type of 
the men and women who should give instruction in 
them, and the benefits to teachers who attend them, 
as viewed by a teacher of long and successful ex- 
perience, who is, therefore, qualified to speak with 
authority, are well described in the following: 



90 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

"I feel sure the county institute furnishes the best 
means for maintaining the esprit de corps of the teachers 
of a county. The summer school, valuable as it is, cannot 
do this. 

"The instructors at institutes ought to be, and gen- 
erally are, men and women of larger experience and broader 
educational views than the average teacher. To be in touch 
with such instructors for a week or more is an inspiration 
to study and growth which result in better teaching, and 
professional advancement logically follows." 

To the inexperienced teachers, the institute 
should be, and when properly managed, directed, and 
instructed, always is a positive help in the sugges- 
tions which come from the instructors, who should 
always keep in mind the needs of such teachers, and 
who should always be men and women who speak 
out of real experience in the actual work of the 
school room. Any one who has never had such ex- 
perience or who has forgotten the difficulties and 
perplexities which characterized the first years of 
his experience as a teacher, cannot hope to be of 
much service to those who most need help and 
sympathy. 

The inexperienced teachers can also secure 
great benefit from association in the institute with 
those who have been over the road, who know all 
about its rough places, and who have earned the 
right to be called the "leading teachers" of their 
county. Such teachers should find their greatest 
joy in mingling with their younger associates in the 
work, in making them feel at home in the institute, 
in giving to them freely the lessons which experience 
has taught, and in helping them in every way pos- 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 91 

sible. To all such teachers there will come a full 
realization of the meaning of "It is more blessed to 
give than to receive." 

To those who instruct in the teachers' institute, 
there comes a responsibility which is great as well 
as an opportunity which is unusual. The message 
to be given should be carefully thought out and felt 
out. It should come from a head which is clear in 
its thinking and from a heart which is warm with 
a burning desire to be really helpful to teachers of 
all classes. It should never contain a recital of 
visionary theories of education, which have resulted 
from a "brain storm" on the part of some imprac- 
tical "professor" who could not successfully teach 
or superintend a real school for a single day ; or an 
account of foolish experiments in some mysterious 
realm of the psychic world, which have been per- 
formed by some one in a "research laboratory;" or 
an attempt to make an impossible application of 
some alleged pedagogical principle, which common 
sense at once recognizes as being ridiculous in con- 
ception and impossible of execution. Destructive 
criticism, which always deadens, should find no 
place in thought or expression. Courage and hope 
should be the keynote of the work of the session. 

What teachers need is encouragement in work- 
ing toward the realization of high ideals which 
appeal to their judgment as being possible of 
realization, and not criticism of everything which 
they have done or hoped to do. They need to be 
inspired to nobler efforts, not made despondent by 
the recital of pretended, but absolutely false achieve- 



92 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

ments. They need to be encouraged to do their 
best, to magnify the importance of their own per- 
sonalties, and to work out in so far as possible their 
own salvation, by overcoming difficulties which are 
certain to arise. They should not be discouraged 
with the thought that the admission of difficulty al- 
ways indicates weakness and that, if they were only 
strong enough, there would be no difficulties to over- 
come. They need a joyous enthusiasm to work with 
and for their pupils ; not a knowledge of some dark 
and mysterious philosophy or psychology which will 
lead them to question whether they are really here 
on earth with large responsibilities which, at times, 
seem hard to bear, but with accompaning opportu- 
nities for service which should ffil their souls with 
gratitude and their lives with joy. 

To bring to teachers some such hope, encourage- 
ment, enthusiasm, and inspiration, should be the 
purpose of every teachers' institute and to work for 
the realization of this purpose, officers, teachers, and 
instructors should unite all their energies and 
efforts. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the teachers' 
institute has proved its worth as a means of profes- 
sional growth and inspiration in the life of teachers, 
and that this worth is fully recognized by the best 
teachers in all sections of the land, there is an oc- 
casional attempt to abolish it entirely or to make 
its continuance optional with the board of education 
or some other school authority. The causes leading 
to the final or optional discontinuance of the teach- 
ers' institute in a very few states constitute an in- 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 93 

teresting study which cannot, in this connection, be 
entered into in detail. In one instance, at least, the 
teachers' institute has been abolished largely because 
of the intense dissatisfaction of the teachers with 
the methods used, in its management by the ''state 
machine" which seemed to pay little or no heed to 
the needs or demands of the teachers for whose 
benefit the institute should always be planned and 
carried on. 

As a rule, however, the attempt to discontinue 
the teachers' institute, either by direct or indirect 
means, does not originate with the teachers, but 
with outside critics of various types, who are often 
characterized by little or no knowledge of what the 
real purpose of an institute should be, of what it has 
accomplished in the past, or is attempting to do 
now, and who are actuated, in too many instances, 
by purely selfish motives. 

Of course, there are a few people who are op- 
posed to teachers' institutes because of the cost of 
their maintenance and especially on account of the 
small amount paid to the teachers for attending 
them. Such objections should be eliminated from 
the consideration of the merits of the institute pre- 
cisely as similar objections should always be ignored 
in the consideration of any measure for the better- 
ment of the teachers and the schools. Money is the 
only measure of value known to some people. To 
attempt to convince such people that an institute has 
a value to teachers not measured by the money 
standard is useless. 

The severest critics of institutes are so-called 



94 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

"educators" who are sometimes professors in col- 
leges of education or other departments in univer- 
sities, and who are unable, because of a lack of any- 
thing of value to say, to appear before an audience 
of teachers and patrons of the schools and say any- 
thing which will arouse interest or command atten- 
tion. The audience is always blamed for the failure, 
and the stock criticism follows that the audience, 
because of a lack of intelligence to comprehend the 
wonderful wisdom and the learned discussion of the 
speaker, does not "react." It never seems to occur 
to such faultfinders that there can be no reaction 
without action and that the two are always equal. 

These would-be institute instructors, who are 
without a message, and who try to conceal their lack 
of anything to say by an attempt to say it in "Ped- 
aguese" instead of English, soon develop into the 
second stage of complaining. They condemn all in- 
stitute instructors who really command a hearing 
because of a real message, delivered in a manner 
which is effective, as mere "entertainers" whose 
"performances" unfit an audience to listen to a "logi- 
cal discussion of a serious question." Their final 
spasm of criticism comes v/hen they no longer receive 
any response to their persistent and urgent appeals 
to be permitted to lecture in the institutes, and man- 
ifests itself in an outburst of contempt for all that 
the institute represents or does, and by the claim 
that they would not lower their official dignity nor 
risk their reputation for scholarship by descending 
to the low plane of talking to such ignorant and un- 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 95 

cultured audiences. It is such as they who have 
pronounced the teachers' institute a failure. 

It is gratifying in this connection to call atten- 
tion to the many rare men and women, connected 
with the higher educational institutions, who are 
in no way affected with the snobbery which is un- 
fortunately too common in many such institutions. 
Their scholarship is both broad and accurate and 
their training both wide and deep. Their heads are 
filled with sane ideas which they can express in 
language understandable by the common people. 
Their experience in both school and life is rich. 
Their hearts are full of sympathy. Such men and 
women, instead of condemning the institute as a 
failure, consider it one of the greatest agencies in 
existence for the betterment of the public schools, 
through the uplift which it gives to both the teach- 
ers and the patrons. 

Another class of opponents of teachers' insti- 
tutes is composed of persons who have heard some 
of the meaningless jargon which is sometimes in- 
flicted upon those in attendance and, with some de- 
gree of justice, conclude that the institute is of no 
real value and should, therefore, be discontinued. 
Their mistake is due to the erroneous conclusion 
that all instruction is of the meaningless kind which 
they have been unfortunate enough to hear. There 
would be as much reason in a proposal to discon- 
tinue all schools, because there are some poor teach- 
ers, as in a demand to discontinue teachers' insti- 
tutes, because there are some inefficient instructors, 



96 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

The claim is sometimes made that with the com- 
ing of better educated and better trained teachers, 
the value of the institute passes, and that it should, 
therefore, be discontinued. If the education and 
training which teachers are now receiving produce 
a class of teachers who think that they are finished 
products with no need of further self-improvement 
and professional growth, and who are thoroughly 
satisfied with themselves and their work, then the 
less we have of such education and training the bet- 
ter for the schools. Education and training of 
the right type never produce such teachers. The 
better teachers are prepared for their work, the 
more they feel the need of that uplifting and in- 
spiriting influence which a well conducted teach- 
ers' institute supplies. Just as the best trained 
ministers, lawyers, and physicians are most anxious 
to meet in conferences and associations for the con- 
sideration of the betterment of their profession in 
order that they may receive the help that comes 
from attendance upon such meetings, so the best 
trained teachers most readily respond to the call of 
the teachers' institute. Because of their superior 
education and training, such teachers are always 
glad of an opportunity to attend all such meetings, 
and those who are not truly professional should be 
compelled to attend or to cease pretending to do a 
work for which no education or training can ever 
fit them. 

The teachers' institute, as now conducted in 
some states and as it should be conducted in all 
states, is a most important factor not only in pro- 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 97 

viding a means of professional growth for teachers 
but also in creating and maintaining an interest in 
the welfare of the public schools on the part of the 
parents. Through such an institute a most effective 
appeal can be made for the much desired co-opera- 
tion between the home and the school and for the 
development of a school sentiment which will sus- 
tain that "community interest" of which so much is 
heard and for which so little is really done. An in- 
stitute which thus touches the interests and meets 
the needs of both teachers and patrons, and thereby 
helps to create and to direct educational thought and 
sentiment is in reality a most efficient means of pub- 
lic school extension. As such it is certainly worthy 
of the official recognition and financial support of 
both state and local educational authorities. Public 
school extension is at least equal in importance to 
university extension, which is now recognized as a 
large factor in the work of higher education. 

In addition to the county teachers' institute, 
there are various other important meetings of teach- 
ers, such as the local institute, the county or city 
teachers' association, district and state and national 
associations. Professional teachers welcome all 
these agencies for growth and improvement and in 
so far as possible give them their cordial support. 
In the smaller meetings there is found the oppor- 
tunity to form an intimate acquaintance, each with 
the work of the other, which is beneficial to all, while 
in the larger meetings, such as district, state, or 
national, there is obtained that larger acquaintance 



98 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

and broader vision so necessary for growth and de- 
velopment. 

In the summer schools, which are so largely 
attended, and which are usually in charge of good 
instructors, teachers find another excellent oppor- 
tunity for that systematic and continuous study 
which is a most important factor in their self- 
improvement and professional growth. In such 
schools, many teachers complete their college course 
and thus fit themselves for promotion in both posi- 
tion and salary. The custom of some boards of 
education of placing a premium upon attendance at 
summer schools by providing for an additional in- 
crease in salary for all teachers who attend, is 
worthy of both commendation and imitation. 

There are always some teachers, however, who 
should neither be required nor encouraged to attend 
summer schools. Their work during the school 
year shows, both by the manner in which it is done 
and by the results secured, that they are devoted 
students of the subjects taught and of the best 
methods of teaching them. To many such earnest 
and successful teachers, attendance at a summer 
school would result in more harm than good. Dur- 
ing their vacation they should endeavor to dismiss 
all thought of school and formal study from their 
minds and should spend the time in rest and recrea- 
tion. Perhaps, some day some one possessed with 
a large supply of common sense and high ideals of 
justice, will devise some plan by means of which the 
much coveted "credits," now obtainable only by a 
formal study of the theory of education in a school 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 99 

of pedagogy, may be obtained without such formal 
study by real teachers who are intelligently studying 
and successfully solving the real problems of the 
real schools which they daily teach. Everyone who is 
well informed as to educational conditions, knows 
that there are many such teachers in every county 
of every state in the Union. They are usually the 
source of much of the information upon which re- 
ports of educational progress and the discussion of 
methods in education are based, and are not in- 
frequently better informed in educational theory 
and more thoroughly trained in educational practice 
than the teachers to whom they would be compelled 
to go to secure formal credits for their work. 

Unfortunately, the low salary paid to most 
teachers in the public schools prohibits them from 
taking advantage of one of the most effective means 
of growth and development, viz: travel. Only those 
who have seen something of the world in all its vast 
and varied interests can realize how the horizon of 
the teacher enlarges, his vision expands, and his 
powers develop with even an occasional opportunity 
to look beyond the narrow limits of the county or 
state in which he teaches. Colleges and universities 
recognize the value and importance of this agency 
in the life and growth of their teachers by institut- 
ing the "Sabbatical Year" in which a leave of ab- 
sence is granted, for the purpose of travel and 
study, with sufficient salary to make possible the 
acceptance of the courtesy by all to whom it is 
offered. 

Is it too much to hope that the future will pro- 



100 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

duce a new type of philanthropist who, out of 
genuine gratitude for what the public schools have 
done for him, and with a vision of what he can do 
in return for the public schools, will show his grati- 
tude and make possible the realization of his vision 
by providing the necessary funds to send worthy 
public school teachers upon an occasional excursion 
or voyage in quest of renewed health, enlarged 
enthusiasm, and new ideas? An occasional gen- 
erous gift for this purpose has already been made 
and lends encouragement to the hope that in the 
near future large donations for the benefit of public 
schools will be even more common than are similar 
bequests to colleges and universities at the present 
time. 

Is it unreasonable to expect that some day wars 
will cease, because preparation for wholesale mur- 
der will have ceased, and that, as a result, the bil- 
lions of money now worse than wasted in the bar- 
barities of inhuman and inexcusable warfare or in 
preparation for a fanciful security against it, can 
be saved for public education, thereby making pos- 
sible the payment of sufficient salaries to enable the 
teachers in the public schools to secure such benefits 
of travel as will enrich their own lives and the lives 
of their pupils ? 

The future safety of our Republic depends in 
no small measure upon the character of the instruc- 
tion given in its public schools; the character of 
this instruction depends largely upon the character 
of the teachers, and the character of the teachers 
depends in a large measure upon their growth in all 



THE GROWTH OF TEACHERS 101 

that makes for a larger and better intellectual and 
spiritual life. To the promotion of this growth 
every teacher's life should be devoted and the ener- 
gies of all who love the public schools should be 
directed. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE TEACHER'S SURPLUS 

AS a growing financial surplus, the result of 
wise business management, tends to create 
and maintain confidence in the stability of 
a commercial enterprise on the part of those who 
have money to invest, so an increasing surplus of 
teaching power, the result of personal growth and 
self-improvement, tends to create and maintain con- 
fidence in the success of teachers on the part of 
those who have children to educate. It should, 
therefore, be the constant aim and determined pur- 
pose of all teachers to accumulate such a surplus as 
will insure the confidence of parents in the efficiency 
of the school and the respect of pupils for the com- 
petency of the teacher. 

It is becoming more apparent each year that 
good health is a most important factor in success in 
all vocations or professions.. It is safe to predict 
that in the near future the physical examination 
which prospective teachers will be required to pass, 
will be such as to exclude from the ranks of teachers 
all who are not supplied with a reasonable amount 
of physical capital in the form of physical vitality. 
Such examinations will serve two purposes — the 
protection of the children in the schools against the 
possibility of the contagion of ill health and the in- 
compentency and irritability so apt to result from 

(102) 



THE teacher's SURPLUS 103 

the poor health of teachers, and also the protection 
of persons lacking in physical strength from a com- 
plete loss of health so certain to result from an at- 
tempt to teach without sufficient physical vigor to 
endure the strain. 

Notwithstanding the fact that, in all commu- 
nities there can still be found some people who look 
upon teaching as a sinecure, an easy task really 
without care, with few hours, short days, and long 
vacations, all who know what teaching actually 
means in preparation and what it requires in both 
physical and mental effort, recognize that in no 
work of any kind are there greater difficulties to 
meet than in the work of teaching; in no place 
graver responsibilities to assume than in the school 
room. 

Live teaching is exhausting to nervous energy 
and is a constant drain on life, itself. Not a few 
teachers who spent their early years on a farm, at a 
time when the working day had no limitations as to 
length except dawn and dusk, can testify that maul- 
ing rails from daylight to dark is not nearly so tire- 
some to body or mind as ''splitting hairs" in the 
school room for five or six hours a day, especially if 
the "hair splitting" is due to the lack of appreciation 
or understanding of hypercritical parents who fail 
to recognize the difficulty of school problems and 
their own ignorance of how such problems should 
be solved. It is, therefore, imperative that all 
teachers who aspire to the highest success should 
make such success possible by conserving in every 
available way their physical strength in order that 
they may accumulate a surplus of physical vitality 



104 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

with which to meet the emergencies which are cer- 
tain to arise in the work of the school. 

To aid in the accumulation of this surplus, all 
such drudgery as marking papers should be re- 
duced to a minimum. In some schools there is a 
tendency to require so much written work that 
teachers are compelled either to give little attention 
to the mass of written material handed in to them 
by pupils or to exhaust their physical and mental 
life in the drudgery of examining it. If critical 
attention is not given by the teacher to both the 
form and content of the written work of the pupils, 
such neglect soon becomes known. Instead of the 
exactness which writing is presumed to produce, 
carelessness on the part of the pupils, who have dis- 
covered that much of their written work is never 
even looked at, is certain to result. On the other 
hand, if a large amount of written work is critically 
examined by the teacher, no time is left for the rest 
and recreation so essential to both physical and 
mental life and vigor. As a result, there is a de- 
ficiency instead of a surplus in the teacher's vitality. 
No teacher can long devote many hours either day 
or night to such drudgery and do justice to the im- 
portant work of the school. 

When examinations or other exercises necessi- 
tating a large amount of written work are required, 
pupils should remain in school in the forenoon for 
only such time as is necessary to complete the work 
assigned, and should then be excused for the re- 
mainder of the day. After they have been so ex- 
cused, teachers can be free to give their undivided 



THE teacher's SURPLUS 105 

attention to the task of marking papers — an im- 
portant piece of school work which should be done 
in the school room during school hours. Under no 
circumstances should teachers be compelled to hold 
examinations all day and then devote half the night 
or, perhaps the vacation period, to the work of grad- 
ing manuscripts, thereby unfitting themselves for 
the school room activities which are to follow. 

Boards of education and the patrons whom they 
represent will readily endorse and cordially support 
this plan when its purpose is explained to them and, 
since even the lazy and indifferent are inclined to 
do a little studying at home in the examination sea- 
son, no loss to pupils will result. 

The importance of a reasonable amount of 
written work, carefully done by pupils and carefully 
examined by teachers, is recognized by all. An ex- 
cess of such work, however, will always result in 
positive injury to both pupils and teachers, not alone 
in the evils already named, but also in a loss of the 
positive benefits which result from the oral recita- 
tion properly conducted. The so-called written reci- 
tation cannot be indulged in to any great extent 
without neglecting the important work of training 
pupils to think on their feet and to express their 
thoughts orally with accuracy and fluency. Writ- 
ten questions prepared by the teacher, to which 
answers are written by the pupils, may guarantee 
a recitation hour of perfect quiet and order, but the 
quiet is suggestive of death and the order calls to 
mind the cemetery. 

The oral recitation properly directed by a com- 



106 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

petent teacher glows with life. In such a recitation 
interest is aroused, thought is provoked, the mind is 
informed, and the power of expression is developed. 
At the close of such a recitation, pupils know that 
something of real value has been accomplished, and 
teachers are not burdened by the sight of stacks of 
written material to which many tedious hours must 
be devoted to determine what has been done by the 
pupils in the recitation hour. In many schools, the 
elimination of a large amount of the lifeless written 
work together with the substitution in its stead of 
oral teaching by live teachers and oral reciting by 
live pupils, would result in much more substantial 
progress by the children and a growing surplus of 
physical life for the teachers. 

Not a few teachers become addicted to what 
may be termed the keeping-in-at-recess-or-after- 
school-habit and thereby greatly diminish their sur- 
plus of physical vitality. While there may be an 
occasional need to detain pupils at recess or after 
school hours for the purpose of study or instruction, 
usually the teachers who depend upon such means 
to secure the necessary preparation of lessons, which 
should have been prepared either at home or in 
school hours, or to give instruction, which should 
have been given in the recitation period, succeed 
only in gaining the enmity of their pupils and in 
wearing themselves out in body, mind, and spirit. 
While keeping in at recess or after school may oc- 
casionally be the natural punishment for some of- 
fense committed by a child, as a rule, teachers who 
resort to such a punishment for every little act of 



THE teacher's SURPLUS 107 

misbehavior, will soon find that they, themselves, 
suffer more than the children, in being deprived of 
the benefits of full recesses and prompt dismissals. 
In the majority of instances, a large number of 
pupils kept in at recess and after school indicates 
inefficient teaching and poor discipline. 

It is the custom of some teachers, who are not 
victims of the habit of keeping the children in after 
school hours, to remain in the school room after 
dismissal to prepare the lessons and to arrange the 
work of the next day. Usually the atmosphere of the 
school room and the physical condition of the 
teacher, at the close of the day, are such as to make 
it impossible to do work of any kind in an efficient 
manner. It would be well for the health of all such 
teachers, if they were compelled to vacate their 
school rooms, when the day's work is completed, to 
take exercise in the open air, and thus to create an 
appetite for the evening meal and to develop physi- 
cal conditions favorable to a good night's rest, one 
of the most essential factors in maintaining a sur- 
plus of physical vitality and mental vigor. 

"How long should a teacher sleep?" was once 
found in the question box of a teachers' institute, 
directed to an instructor whose life had been de- 
voted to the work of education and whose long and 
varied experience included practically all phases of 
school work, from teaching a country school to a 
professorship in a large university. "Just as long 
as it tastes good" was the immediate and smiling 
reply of this instructor, a man of rare ability and 
unusually successful experience, since then the 



lOB OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

superintendent of schools of one of the largest cities 
of the United States, and afterward the chief execu- 
tive of his native commonwealth. 

To sleep ''just as long as it tastes good" is 
always a safe guide to follow and one which can be 
followed without difficulty by teachers under all 
ordinary circumstances and conditions. Nothing 
which can be controlled should ever be permitted to 
interfere with a teacher's sleep, and the "meal of 
sleep" should always begin early enough in the 
night to insure that the "taste" will be satisfied early 
enough in the morning to enable the teacher to get 
up at a reasonable hour, to eat breakfast in a 
civilized manner, and to get to school not on time, 
but always ahead of time. The teachers who are 
ahead of time at school in the morning usually keep 
ahead of the school work throughout the entire day. 
Such teachers have a great advantage over those 
who hurry to school, perhaps arrive a few minutes 
late, and never quite catch up with the work of the 
day. For the purpose of preparation for the work 
which is to follow, a half hour in the morning before 
school opens, when the atmosphere of the school 
room is pure, the teacher's body rested and brain 
clear, is worth hours of time in the evening after 
the hard work of the day, when the opposite con- 
ditions prevail. 

To leave the school room as soon as possible 
after the day's duties have been performed and to 
return to it early enough in the morning to give 
ample time to prepare for the work of the day is a 
good rule for all teachers to follow and one which 



THE TEACHER'S SURPLUS 109 

should have very few exceptions. Obedience to this 
rule will greatly aid in economizing strength and 
in accumulating a surplus of vitality. 

In many instances, however, needless worry 
rather than necessary work constitutes the greatest 
drain upon the life of the teacher. It is, therefore, 
imperative that all causes of needless worry be 
eliminated in so far as possible in order that health 
be conserved and a surplus of vitality be accumu- 
lated. When worry is due to poor health, teachers 
owe it to themselves as well as to their pupils to 
use every known means to improve their health 
and thereby increase their efficiency. If the worry 
is caused by a lack of confidence, which is the result 
of a lack of preparation to teach, usually the surest 
and quickest means of relief will be found in attend- 
ing school until the needed preparation is secured. 
If the source of the worry is found in a failure to 
interest the pupils in their work, and this failure is 
due to an unwillingness of the teacher to pay the 
price of success in the daily preparation which is 
necessary to v/in success, then the only hope of relief 
which can come to such a teacher is found either in 
regeneration or resignation. 

There, are, however, many well prepared, 
studious, growing, earnest, and progressive teach- 
ers, who are the victims of worry. In the majority 
of instances this worry, as it applies to their experi- 
ence, may be defined as "trouble which never hap- 
pens," but which seems to be about to happen much 
of the time. The futility of such worry on the part 
of others is always easily recognized. But to elim- 



.110 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

inate it from one's own life is not always an easy 
task. The absurdity of "borrowing trouble/' on 
which a high rate of interest in the form of anxiety 
and nervous strain must always be promptly paid, 
is shown in the following good humored stanzas 
from the pen of Sam Walter Foss, whose sane 
philosophy of every day life has helped all who have 
read his poems. 

"The sun's heat will give out in ten million years more, 

And he worried about it. 
It will sure give out then, if it doesn't before, 

And he worried about it. 
It will surely give out, so the scientists said 
In all the scientifical books he had read, 
And the whole boundless universe then will be dead. 

And he worried about it. 

"And some day the earth will fall into the sun, 

And he worried about it. 
Just as sure and as straight as if shot from a gun. 

And he worried about it. 
'When strong gravitation unbuckles her straps, 
Just picture,' he said. 'What a fearful collapse! 
It will come in a few million ages, perhaps,' 

And he worried about it, 

"And the earth vnll become much too small for the race. 

And he worried about it. 
When we'll pay thirty dollars an inch for pure space, 

And he worried about it. 
The earth will be crowded so much, Mdthout doubt. 
There won't be room for one's tongue to stick out, 
Nor room for one's thoughts to wander about, 

And he worried about it. 



THE teacher's SURPLUS 111 

"And the Gulf Stream will curve and New England grow 
torrider, 

And he worried about it, 
Than was ever the climate of southernmost Florida, 

And he worried about it. 
Our ice crop will be knocked into small smithereens, 
And crocodiles block up our mowing machines. 
And we'll lose our fine crop of potatoes and beans. 
And he worried about it. 

"And in less than ten thousand years, there's no doubt, 

And he worried about it, 
Our supply of lumber and coal will give out, 

And he worried about it. 
Just then the ice age will return cold and raw, 
Frozen men will stand stiff with arms outstretched in av/e. 
As if vainly beseeching a general thaw. 

And he worried about it." 

[From "Whiffs from Wild Meadows." Copyright, 1898, 
by Lee and Shepard. Used by permission of Lathrop, Lee 
and Shepard Company.] 

In some instances teachers, in common with 
other types of humanity, permit themselves to dwell 
so constantly upon the few unpleasant experiences 
connected with their daily work, that they lose sight 
of the far larger number of pleasant experiences 
which always result from a cheerful performance 
of regular duties. In brooding over their troubles 
in the school room, they forget "to count their bless- 
ings." The annoyance caused by the misbehavior of 
one disobedient boy occupies so large a place in their 
thought that no room is left for the joy which 
should result from the knowledge that a score of 
other boys are always obedient and well behaved. 



112 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

The failure of a small minority to do well in their 
studies looms up so large that the success of the 
majority is entirely forgotten. Teachers who con- 
stantly magnify their troubles and minimize their 
joys, and who emphasize their hindrances rather 
than their helps, usually develop a habit of worry- 
ing, which soon renders them unfit for efficient 
service. A tendency to worry for any reason, should 
be resisted with all the force at the command of 
the teacher. If persisted in, health is certain to be 
undermined and efficiency greatly decreased. 

With written work reduced to the minimum 
amount really essential to the needs of the pupils, 
with examinations and other written exercises con- 
ducted in such a manner that the resulting work 
for the teacher can be done in school hours, with the 
keeping-in-after-school habit abolished whenever 
possible, with sufficient exercise in the open air to 
counteract the enervating confinement of the school 
room, with sufficient sleep to renew bodily and 
mental vigor, and with the cultivation of a spirit 
of cheerfulness, which will tend to dwell upon 
sources of encouragement rather than discourage- 
ment, and which will, therefore, furnish the best 
antidote for the worry which kills, teachers can 
hope to lay up such a surplus of physical vitality 
as will enable them to meet the emergencies which 
are certain to arise in their work. 

Teachers who make use of the means of pro- 
fessional growth and self-improvement, will grad- 
ually accumulate a surplus of mental vigor which 
always characterizes the permanently successful 



THE TEACHER'S SURPLUS 113 

teacher. While the amount of capital invested in 
knowledge and training, with which teachers begin 
their work, is an important factor in their equip- 
ment, it is absolutely essential to their continued 
success that this capital be made effective by an ever 
increasing accumulation of knowledge and an ever 
enlarging capacity to use it. Neither the original 
capital nor the growing surplus of the knowledge 
possessed by teachers, should be confined to the 
results produced by the study of the subjects taught 
by them. In their first years of experience, it is 
often necessary for teachers to devote much of their 
time and energy to a mastery of the subject matter 
contained in the text-books used by their pupils in 
the preparation of their assigned lessons. But 
nothing can be more destructive to the real mental 
life and intellectual growth and development of 
teachers than a mere formal going over and over, 
again and again, of the subject matter of a text- 
book with which they are perfectly familiar. 

Teachers are frequently urged to make a care- 
ful re-study of the lessons which they have taught 
for many years, notwithstanding the fact that the 
lessons, in themselves, cannot possibly present any- 
thing new to be learned or anything for considera- 
tion which will necessitate mental effort or arouse 
new interest. Imagine a primary teacher, who has 
devoted several decades of her life to teaching chil- 
dren to read and who is thoroughly conversant with 
the best methods of teaching the important subject 
of reading, shortening her vacation in order that 
she may return to her home in good time to make a 



114 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

careful review of the lessons contained in the 
Primer and First Reader which she is to teach, 
before she attempts to present to the children the 
profound truths and the stirring scenes which these 
text-books contain! What intellectual power and 
spiritual insight will come to her as she again reads 
the thrilling story of "A Cat" or even "The Cat!" 
How she will revel in the new joy which will come 
to her soul as she contemplates the possibilities of 
the different answers which may be given to such 
searching questions as "Is this a ball?" "Ned, can 
you hop?" or "Can the bird sing?" Think of the 
inspiration which must come to the soul of a teacher, 
who has drilled children on the multiplication table 
for a quarter of a century, as she reviews the tables 
of two times one to twelve times twelve in search 
of new ideas to present to her class ! How her heart 
glows with a renewed zeal for her work as she pre- 
pares anew the lessons to be taught ! 

It is not, however, the teachers of the primary 
and elementary grades, alone, who are in danger of 
intellectual decay and death from such a deadening 
process of repetition. Primary and elementary 
teachers are generally kept alive by being in con- 
stant contact with the vigorous life of the children 
whom they teach, and whose never ending curiosity 
to know and whose abounding enthusiasm to do are 
a constant incentive to mental alertness on the part 
of the teacher. 

Teachers of older pupils in high school and col- 
lege, whose work is highly specialized, are also in 
constant danger of becoming dull and lifeless in 



THE TEACHER'S SURPLUS 115 

their oft repeated presentation of lessons with the 
subject matter of which they are perfectly familiar, 
unless constant additions are made to their surplus 
of intellectual vitality from sources which are out- 
side of their specialties and from which new in- 
terest, inspiration, and enthusiasm can be drawn. 

A beggar who was reproved for impersonating 
on three successive days, a blind man, a deaf and 
dumb man, and a paralytic, when asked by one of 
his generous but indignant victims if he did not 
think it would be better to choose one affliction and 
stick to it, replied : 

"No, ma'am. They's nothin' so fatal to the full 
development of all one's natural powers as narrer 
specialization." 

This incident is not without its pedagogical 
significance and needs no comment or explanation. 

All who are conversant with the important in- 
cidents in our Nation's history will readily recall 
the stirring scenes which took place in the United 
Sta;tes Senate in 1830 on the occasion of the great 
debate between Hayne and Webster — a debate which 
is still the subject of much interesting and profitable 
study in the schools. 

In his reply to Hayne, the senator from Massa- 
chusetts showed a grasp of the fundamental prin- 
ciples of nationality and a knowledge of history, 
which were marvelous in their scope and in their 
application to the subject under discussion. When 
asked how much time he had given to the prepara- 
tion of his famous reply, Mr. Webster answered, 
"Twenty Years." A review of his biography will 



116 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

bring to mind convincing proof of the truthfulness 
of his answer. In all the years of these two decades, 
much of his training, both in the theory of our gov- 
ernment as gained from his study of the constitu- 
tion, and also in his experience in defending the 
constitutional rights of his Alma Mater and other 
important interests, led him to interpret the con- 
stitution as possessing large powers. In all this 
study and experience, he had accumulated a large 
surplus of knowledge and of conviction on the sub- 
ject of nationality, which enabled him to attack the 
doctrine of State Rights in a manner which discon- 
certed his opponents and delighted his friends. 
When the supreme moment in his life came, he was 
prepared to meet it with honor to himself and with 
lasting benefits to his country, because of the sur- 
plus of knowledge which he had accumulated in the 
preceding years. 

In some such manner, teachers should be pre- 
pared to meet the supreme moments in their lives 
as teachers — ^moments which may determine, in a 
large measure, the future success or failure of their 
pupils. Fortunately, most of us can recall a few 
teachers of this type — ^teachers who taught out of 
the fullness of their accumulated surplus of knowl- 
edge of the subject assigned for study. When the 
opportunity came, they were ready to meet it so as 
to arouse interest, hold attention, and create a 
hunger to know and to grow. Because of prepara- 
tion made all through the years, they were able not 
only to teach the lesson assigned but also to relate 
its teachings to life and living. 



THE teacher's SURPLUS 117 

However large the capital with which teachers 
begin their work, unless a constantly increasing 
surplus of mental vigor is added with each year's 
experience, their intellectual decay and death are 
certain to follow. In every instance a dead or dying 
school is the direct result of a dead or dying teacher. 
It is, therefore, the constant desire of every live 
teacher to accumulate such a surplus of mental 
vigor as will give life to the school and animate all 
who attend it with an eager desire to work for an 
education which will fit them for life's duties and 
life's activities. 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE TEACHER'S SURPLUS 

{Concluded) 

EVEN with a surplus of physical vitality and 
mental vigor, however, teachers may fail to 
touch the life of their pupils in such a man- 
ner as to insure their growth in the best things of 
life. Something more than a strong body and a 
keen mind is necessary in the equipment of teachers. 
It is imperative that they also possess a large sur- 
plus of heart power, without which all teaching 
must fail to realize its highest purpose. 

Perhaps, the most serious lack in modem 
education is the failure to develop this heart power 
in pupils. In the emphasis which has been 
placed upon the intellectual, in many instances, the 
spiritual has been neglected. Boys and girls need 
to be taught to appreciate as well as to know; to 
fe€l as well as to do; to sympathize with workers 
as well as to work. 

In these days when special emphasis is being 
placed upon the importance of things material, 
when some would have us think that preparation 
for making a living is the only purpose of educa- 
tion, when we are told that all the products of the 
school can be definitely measured, there is great 
need that attention be called to the fruits of the 
spirit and to the fact that the best products of 
education cannot be measured in terms of the 

(118) 



THE teacher's SURPLUS 119 

physical and the intellectual. Heart culture must 
not be neglected. The emotional life of children 
must not be starved for lack of appropriate food 
and exercise. 

In some of the extremely "practical" theories 
of education, advanced at the present time, is found 
conclusive evidence that the descendants of the 
Gradgrinds, M'Choakumchilds, and Feeders, whose 
characters are so perfectly delineated by Charles 
Dickens, are still abroad in the land and differ little 
from their ancestors. The following quotation from 
Hard Times, descriptive of the leading charac- 
teristics of Thomas Gradgrind, quite definitely de- 
fines the attitude toward education of some of the 
modern measurers of educational results. 

"Thomas Gradgrind, sir. A man of realities. A man 
of facts and calculations. A man who proceeds upon the 
principle that two and two are four, and nothing over, and 
who is not to be talked into allowing for anything over. 
Thomas Gradgrind, sir — peremptorily Thomas — Thomas 
Gradgrind. With a rule and a pair of scales, and the mul- 
tiplication table always in his pocket, sir, ready to weigh 
and measure any parcel of human nature, and tell you ex- 
actly what it comes to. It is a mere question of figures, a 
case of simple arithmetic." 

A glance at a Gradgrind School in full opera- 
tion at the time when Dickens wrote, together with 
a brief consideration of the methods used there and 
the results which followed, will not be without profit. 

Following a remarkable definition of horse, by 
"Bitzer," the recitation in this School of Facts 
proceeded : 



120 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



" 'That's a horse. Now let me ask you girls and boys, 
Would you paper a room with representations of horses?' 

"After a pause, one-half of the children cried in 
chorus, 'Yes, sir!' Upon which the other half, seeing in 
the gentleman's face that Yes was wrong, cried out in 
chorus, 'No, sir!' as the custom is, in these examinations. 

" 'Of course, No. Why wouldn't you?' 

"A pause. One corpulent slow boy, with a wheezy 
manner of breathing, ventured the answer. Because he 
wouldn't paper a room at all, but would paint it. 

" 'You must paper it,' said the gentleman, rather 
warmly. 

" 'You must paper it,' said Thomas Gradgi'ind, 
'whether you like it or not. Don't tell us you wouldn't 
paper it. What do you mean, boy?' 

" 'I'll explain to you, then,' said the gentleman, after 
another dismal pause, 'why you wouldn't paper a room with 
representations of horses. Do you ever see horses walking 
up and down the sides of rooms in reality — in fact? Do 
you 



9» 



"'Yes, sir!' from one-half. 'No, sir!' from the other. 

" 'Of course, no,' said the gentleman, with an indig- 
nant look at the wrong half. 'Why, then, you are not to 
see anywhere, what you don't see in fact; you are not to 
have anywhere, what you don't have in fact. What is called 
Taste, is only another name for Fact.' 

"Thomas Gradgrind nodded his approbation. 

" 'This is a new principle, a discovery, a great dis- 
covery,' said the gentleman. 'Now, I'll try you again. Sup- 
pose you were going to carpet a room. Would you use a 
carpet having a representation of flowers upon it?' 

"There being a general conviction by this time that 
'No, sir!' was always the right answer to this gentleman, 
the chorus of No was very strong. Only a few feeble strag- 
glers said Yes; among them Sissy Jupe. 

"'Girl, number twenty!' said the gentleman, smiling 
in the calm strength of knowledge. 

"Sissy blushed, and stood up. 



THE teacher's SURPLUS 121 

"'So you would carpet your room — or your husband's 
room, if you were a grown woman, and had a husband — 
with representations of flowers, would you?' said the gen- 
tleman. 'Why would you?' 

" 'If you please, sir, I am very fond of flowers,' re- 
turned the girl. 

" 'And is that why you would put tables and chairs 
upon them, and have people walking over them with heavy 
boots?' 

" 'It wouldn't hurt them, sir. They wouldn't crush 
and wither, if you please, sir. They would be the pic- 
tures of what was very pretty and pleasant, and I would 
fancy ' 

" 'Ay, ay, ay ! But you mustn't fancy,' cried the gen- 
tleman, quite elated by coming so happily to his point. 

" 'That's it ! You are never to fancy.' 

" 'You are not, Cecelia Jupe,' Thomas Gradgrind sol- 
emnly repeated, 'to do anything of that kind.' 

'"Fact, fact, fact!' said the gentleman. And 'Fact, 
fact, fact!' repeated Thomas Gradgrind. 

" 'You are to be in all things regulated and governed,' 
said the gentleman, 'by fact. We hope to have, before long, 
a board of fact, composed of commissioners of fact, who 
will force the people to be a people of fact, and nothing but 
fact. You must discard the word Fancy altogether. You 
have nothing to do with it. You are not to have, in any 
object of use or ornament, what would be a contradiction 
in fact. You don't walk upon flowers in fact; you cannot 
be allowed to walk upon flowers in carpets. You don't find 
that foreign birds and butterflies come and perch upon your 
crockery; you cannot be permitted to paint foreign birds 
and butterflies upon your crockery. You never meet with 
quadrupeds going up and down walls; you must not have 
quadrupeds represented on walls. You must use,' said the 
gentleman, 'for all these purposes, combinations and modifi- 
cations (in primary colors) of mathematical figures which 
are susceptible of proof and demonstration. This is the new 
discovery. This is fact. This is taste.' " 



122 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

In this School of Facts, Dickens, the great de- 
fender of the rights of childhood, tells us no little 
Gradgrind had ever seen a face in the moon; had 
ever learned the silly jingle, twinkle, twinkle, little 
star; how I wonder what you are; had ever asso- 
ciated a cow in the field with the famous cow with 
the crumpled horn, who tossed the dog who worried 
the cat who killed the rat who ate the malt, or with 
the yet more famous cow who swallowed Tom 
Thumb. 

When Thomas Gradgrind learned that his chil- 
dren, Thomas and Louisa, had actually peeped in at 
a circus, his indignation knew no bounds. In an 
outburst of surprise, he excitedly remarked to the 
mother that he would as soon have expected to find 
his children reading poetry. On another occasion, 
when Louisa had been overheard to begin a con- 
versation with her brother by saying, "Tom, I 
wonder," she was immediately censured and sternly 
told that she must never wonder. 

Trained in this School of Facts, her emotional 
life cruelly starved, Louisa Gradgrind grew to 
young womanhood and was married to Josiah 
Bounderby, the owner of Coketown, "a big, loud man 
with a stare, and a metallic laugh, a man made out 
of coarse material," ignorant and unsympathetic — 
the "Bully of humility." This marriage was nego- 
tiated by her father as a business transaction in 
keeping with his heartless methods and in harmony 
with his system of education. Even the marriage of 
his daughter was simply one more Fact in the world's 
long list of Facts. There followed the inevitable 



THE teacher's SURPLUS 123 

domestic misery incident to all such heartless and 
loveless unions. In a short time the crisis came and 
the heartbroken woman, who had no knowledge "of 
tastes and fancies; of aspirations and affections," 
who had "never had a child's heart" nor "dreamed 
a child's dreams," left the abode of her married 
misery to which she had been consigned by her 
heartless father, and returned to his home. 

Humiliated by the sad experience through 
which his daughter had passed, Thomas Gradgrind 
came to the conclusion that he could not "but mis- 
trust himself" and in the shadow of this doubt, he 
soliloquized in language both pathetic and sug- 
gestive : 

"Some persons hold that there is a wisdom of the 
Head, and that there is a wisdom of the heart. I have not 
supposed so; but, as I have said, I mistrust myself, now. I 
have supposed the Head to be all-sufficient. It may not be 
all-sufficient; how can I venture this morning to say it is!" 

In this manner, in the school of life's sad 
experience, Thomas Gradgrind slowly learned the 
lesson which this generation needs to learn — ^that 
the wisdom of the Head, important as it is and must 
always remain, is not all-sufficient, and that there 
is a higher and much more important wisdom — ^the 
wisdom of the Heart, which must not be neglected 
in the schools, if the boys and girls who attend them, 
are to be prepared for lives of real usefulness and 
joyful service. 

"It is the heart and not the brain 
That to the highest doth attain." 

This wisdom of the Heart cannot be learned 



124 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

from books by means of formal lessons. It must 
result largely from daily communion in the home 
and school with parents and teachers who possess 
a large surplus of heart power accumulated by 
living lives of unselfish service and by giving freely 
of their own life for others. 

When the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream 
by night and said unto him, "Ask what I shall give 
thee," this wisest man of all the ages replied, "Give, 
therefore, thy servant an understanding heart that 
I may discern between good and bad." Because of 
his wise choice and because he did not ask for mere 
material blessings, Solomon was given not only a 
"wise and understanding heart," but also the ma- 
terial blessings, which he did not primarily seek. 
The sentiment credited to him that as a man 
thinketh in his heart, so is he, applies to all times 
and all conditions. To the truthfulness of the 
divine teachings of the primary importance and the 
fundamental necessity of heart power in the lives 
of those who are really to lead in the world's work, 
all human, experience bears willing testimony. All 
agree that out of the heart are the real issues of 
life. To the teacher such heart power is absolutely 
indispensable. To the accumulation of a surplus of 
such power all worthy teachers aspire. 

Within certain limits, rather definitely fixed, 
physical exercise is beneficial and results in an ac- 
cumulation of a surplus of physical life and vigor. 
Beyond these limits it cannot go without impairing 
physical strength and even endangering life itself. 
Evidence of this is furnished in the sudden collapse 



THE TEACHER'S SURPLUS 125 

of the overtrained athlete who pays the penalty of 
failing to recognize the limitations to which physical 
training can be safely carried. 

In the higher realm of the intellectual, appro- 
priate mental exercise is also the only means of 
accumulating a surplus of mental vigor. While 
there are also in this realm, limitations beyond 
which the exercise of the mind cannot go without 
endangering its healthful action and growth, usually 
the more the minds of teachers are exercised in 
an intelligent effort to clarify the subject matter 
taught to their pupils, the more vigorous their own 
minds become. It is doubtful whether any one 
understands anything fully, until he has success- 
fully taught it to some one else. Brain fag on the 
part of teachers scarcely ever results from an over 
accumulation of a surplus of knowledge. As a rule 
minds wear out from a lack of such surplus. 

In the highest realm of all — the spiritual, the 
cultivation of the emotional life, resulting in the 
accumulation of a surplus of Wisdom of the Heart, 
is realized in the same manner as in the physical 
and mental — ^by appropriate exercise. In this exer- 
cise, it is neither necessary nor important that any 
serious attention be paid or thoughtful considera- 
tion be given to the conflicting theories of opposing 
schools of psychologists, one of which claims to 
believe that the actions produce the emotions, while 
the other insists that the emotions produce the 
actions. Wise teachers will strive, both by precept 
and example, so to teach that both emotions and 
actions will result and they will not waste any time 



126 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

in trying to determine which is cause and which 
is effect. 

In the accumulation of a surplus of Wisdom of 
the Heart, teachers are not subjected to any such 
definite limitations as obtain in the accumulation of 
a surplus of either physical strength or mental vigor. 
It is invariably true that the more heart power 
teachers put into their work the more they have on 
hand for use. The more they give to their pupils 
out of the fullness of their own spiritual life, the 
larger their own souls grow. We all know great 
hearted teachers who are living manifestations of 
the true, even if paradoxical statement that the only 
way to get life is to give life. Unfortunately, it is 
also not difficult to find teachers of the opposite 
type who constantly * exemplify the equally true 
statement that the certain way to lose life is to 
save it. 

Teachers who possess a surplus of physical 
vitality which gives strength of body, a surplus of 
intellectual vigor which provides wisdom of the 
head, and a surplus of heart power which insures 
wisdom of the heart, are well equipped for their 
daily duties as well as for the emergencies which 
may at any moment arise in the class room. Such 
an equipment tends to that perfect self-control of 
body and mind so essential to success in the work 
of the school. It also provides that warmth of 
genuine sympathy and that willingness to serve 
unselfishly the best interests of childhood and 
student life, without which real teaching is im- 
possible. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 

THE public schools are the schools of all the 
people, who with few exceptions give them 
their loyal support, not only by providing 
money raised by taxation for their maintenance, 
but also by according to them a keen appreciation 
of the educational opportunities which are thereby 
furnished to their children. Soon after their estab- 
lishment it became evident that the people could not 
be directly responsible for their management. Laws 
were, therefore, enacted authorizing and requiring 
the appointment or election of boards of education 
to represent the people in providing properly 
equipped school buildings in which to hold the 
schools, and in electing teachers to take charge of 
the work. As the school attendance rapidly in- 
creased in the towns and cities, boards of education 
readily realized that they could not efficiently repre-. 
sent the people in the management of their educa- 
tional interests without an executive officer, specially 
equipped for the work, who could devote all of his 
time and attention to the administration of the 
schools under their control. To meet this need, laws 
were enacted authorizing boards of education to 
elect a superintendent of schools to advise the board 
as to the best educational policy to be adopted by 
them and to execute for the board such policies and 
plans as they might see fit to adopt. 



128 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

In many instances, the election of a superin- 
tendent to represent the board of education in an 
advisory capacity and to direct the work of the 
schools did not, for a time, meet with public ap- 
proval. Many people doubted the necessity or the 
importance of the new office. They were unable to 
see what a superintendent of schools could find to 
do, when the board of education provided the ma- 
terial equipment for the use of the schools and 
elected teachers to teach the children. The original 
attitude of the public toward the office of superin- 
tendent is illustrated by the following incident. 

A group of children were taking advantage of 
a recess period to engage in playing a game of 
school. As is almost always true in such a game, 
they were presenting, as their conception of the 
school, the worst possible conditions of disorder 
and the worst examples of teaching they had 
ever known. The pupils were all idle, indolent, 
and impudent. Their lessons were unprepared and 
their general behavior was unbecoming in every 
way. The teacher belonged to that class, unfortu- 
nately represented in too many schools, who are 
afraid their rights will not be properly recognized, 
and who, therefore, always demand more of their 
pupils than they are either able or vs^illing to give 
in return. Like other heathen, this teacher used 
many vain repetitions, evidently hoping to be heard 
on account of much speaking. With such pupils 
and such a teacher, the type of school represented 
in the game can be readily imagined. 

Some of the parents of the children engaged 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 129 

in the game happened to be visiting the school and 
were interested spectators of the play. They noticed 
one of the boys, who seemed to take no part in it 
except to walk up and down among the other chil- 
dren in a listless sort of way. Occasionally he 
would rest his hand upon the head of some boy, 
while examining with a look of indifference, his 
copy-book or his prepared work in arithmetic or 
language. At other times, he would glance around 
the school room in a mysterious manner. Finally 
he took a seat near the teacher's desk where he 
remained stationary through the remainder of the 
recitation, at the close of which he bade the teacher 
good-bye and retired from the busy scene. His 
strange actions aroused the curiosity of the in- 
terested visitors, one of whom inquired who this 
mysterious personage might be, and why he did not 
take a more definite and active part in the game. 
Instantly the children responded : "Oh ! He is not 
expected to do anything; he is the superintendent." 
It is possible that this reply may represent the 
opinion still held by a few uninformed and unintel- 
ligent individuals. It is also possible that there 
may still be found an occasional so-called superin- 
tendent who merits the description indicated in the 
reply. It is fortunately true, however, that such 
an estimate of the work and worth of the super- 
intendent or the superintendent, who merits such 
an estimate of his work and worth, is rare in these 
days of educational progress. In the great ma- 
jority of instances the superintendent of public 
schools is now held in the highest regard by all the 



130 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

best people who live in the district which he serves. 
He is recognized as a large factor not only in the 
successful management of the schools but also in 
the direction of the affairs of the community. He 
is called upon to assume grave responsibility in 
initiating and executing educational policies. In- 
telligent people no longer think of him as an im- 
practical theorist, nor sneeringly refer to him as a 
man who may know what is in books but who is 
ignorant of business affairs and devoid of common 
sense. Of no other public servant is more required 
in knowledge, tact, skill, judgment, and courage. 
Instead of not being expected to do anything, he 
is required to have some part in doing almost every- 
thing. He is usually the busiest man in the com- 
munity. 

Today competent and efficient members of 
boards of education gladly defer to the judgment 
of a competent and efficient superintendent. They 
always loyally support him in carrying out his edu- 
cational policy. Instead of looking upon the super- 
intendent as a mere figure-head or office clerk, they 
expect him to stand for something very definite in 
the community, both as a man and as a superin- 
tendent. They believe that there is a place in the 
educational system for properly constituted au- 
thority and that this authority should be lodged in 
the superintendent, who should be held to a strict 
account both for the manner in which he exercises 
it and also for the results which follow. This 
authority should give him the initiative in the em- 
ployment of all teachers and in framing and direct- 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 131 

ing the educational policy to be adopted and pur- 
sued. 

In the exercise of such authority, a wise super- 
intendent always seeks the advice of the worthy 
members of his board of education. He also holds 
frequent conferences with his teachers. In all his 
relations with them or with the public, he is open- 
minded and absolutely straightforward. His every 
act and every word bears the stamp of sincerity. 
He never uses his authority in an arbitrary man- 
ner. He never boasts of the power he possesses. 

It is in this authority, vested in the superin- 
tendent and properly exercised by him, that the 
individual teacher finds the best guarantee of that 
freedom v/hich is so essential to the highest success. 
The right relation of superintendent to teachers is, 
therefore, the relation of authority, properly con- 
stituted and wisely exercised, to individual freedom, 
properly conceived and wisely used. 

The principle involved in this relation of ap- 
parently conflicting ideas is found in the world of 
nature, in the field of politics, and even in the do- 
main of theology, as well as in the relation of 
superintendent to teachers. 

In the world of nature, the centripetal and cen- 
trifugal forces are in constant operation. Notwith- 
standing the fact that the direction of one of these 
forces is toward the center and of the other from 
the center, they are both so perfect in their action 
that perfect results necessarily follow. 

In the field of politics, there always has been, is 
now, and always will be a difference of opinion be- 



132 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

tween the followers of Alexander Hamilton, the 
great representative of national authority as em- 
bodied in a strong centralized government, and the 
followers of Thomas Jefferson, the great representa- 
tive of the freedom of the individual, who is subject 
to the government. Today, however, no one but an 
unreasonable partisan fails to see something of 
good in the political creeds of both Hamilton and 
Jefferson. A few times in our history as a nation 
we have reached high tide under the administration 
of a great soul who was competent to appreciate 
fully the good in both theories of government. 
Under the immortal Lincoln, a terrible strife of four 
years in our nation was so guided and controlled 
that, when the end finally came, the world recog- 
nized, as never before, the majesty and authority 
of our Government, and yet, at the same time, the 
world understood as never before, the real sig- 
nificance of individual freedom for all, and the real 
meaning of the phrase — government of the people, 
by the people, for the people. 

In the domain of theology many sermons have 
been preached, many volumes have been printed, 
and many discussions have been held, in a vain at- 
tempt to explain away the apparent conflict between 
God's sovereignty and man's free agency, by an 
Of er-emphasis of the one and an Mnder-emphsLsis of 
the other. To the ordinary layman, however, the 
best explanation yet proposed for the difficulties 
connected with the question is found in the old 
colored man's wise observation that he had never 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 133 

"heard tell of anybody's bein' 'lected to anything 
'cept when he was a candidate." 

Just as there can never be any harmful results 
in the world of nature from the action of the ap- 
parently conflicting centripetal and centrifugal 
forces, neither of which can ever trespass upon the 
domain of the other, so no harmful results can ever 
follow in school administration, if such relation be 
sustained between the superintendent's authority 
and the teacher's freedom as will not permit either 
to trespass upon the domain of the other. Just as 
authority is strengthened and freedom is made 
more secure by a proper recognition and application 
of the two ideas embodied in the two apparently 
conflicting theories of government, so, in school ad- 
ministration, the authority of the superintendent is 
strengthened and the freedom of the teacher is made 
more secure by a proper recognition and application 
of the two ideas embodied in the apparently con- 
flicting theories of the authority of the superinten- 
dent to plan and to direct and the freedom of the 
teacher to carry out the proposed plans and to fol- 
low the given directions. Just as God's sovereignty, 
when properly comprehended, in no sense interferes 
with the intelligent use of a rational individual's 
freedom of choice to work out his own salvation, 
even if it be with fear and trembling, so the superin- 
tendent's authority, when properly constituted and 
wisely exercised, in no sense interferes with the 
intelligent use of a sensible teacher's freedom of 
choice to teach in such a way and by the use of such 
methods as are best adapted to her individual char- 



134 OiJR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

acteristics and as are best suited to the needs of her 
school. 

The authority of the superintendent, however, 
may be unwisely used in planning and executing 
such a close and rigid organization and classification 
of the schools as will seriously interfere with the 
largest growth and the highest development of the 
individual pupils and with the fullest success of the 
individual teachers in their work of instruction. In 
the earlier days of supervision, this was possibly the 
tendency. But at present much of the criticism 
directed against the organization and classification 
of the schools is without reason or excuse and is due 
to the fact that the critics presume that conditions 
exist in reality, which have no existence except in 
their own distorted imaginations. Some of the 
severest critics of present day school administration 
waste their time and exhaust their energy in cre- 
ating, arresting, indicting, prosecuting, condemning, 
sentencing, and punishing large numbers of men of 
straw with whom they have associated so long as to 
render them in a large measure oblivious to what 
is being done in the world of reality to correct the 
defects against which they so loudly declaim. 

In the great majority of instances, the organ- 
ization of schools into classes of reasonable size, as 
such organization usually exists at the present time, 
not only secures the greatest good to the greatest 
number, but also serves the highest interests of the 
individual pupil. It is highly important that classes 
of sufficient size be maintained in the organization 
of schools to insure the proper class spirit and to 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 135 

secure the benefits which result from the enthusiasm 
of numbers. The claim sometimes made that, in 
order to reach the individual child, the teacher 
must at all times deal directly with the individual, 
is not in accord with the teachings of experience. 
There are many times when the individual is best 
reached through the class. While too many pupils 
to a teacher necessarily leads to a neglect of the in- 
dividual, on the other hand, too few pupils to a 
teacher just as certainly works harm to the in- 
dividual because of the lack of interest of both pupil 
and teacher, which is certain to result. In fact all 
experience endorses and confirms the following 
statement quoted from the Report of the Committee 
of Twelve on Rural Schools : 

"When we consider the various elements that enter into 
a good education and especially training for social activities, 
it is not too much to say that a very small school is almost 
necessarily a very poor school." 

Because of the recognition of the truthfulness 
of the conclusion stated in this report, "that a very 
small school is almost necessarily a very poor 
school," thousands of such small schools have been 
abandoned and, throughout the country, wherever 
the physical conditions will permit, rural schools are 
being rapidly consolidated or centralized, in order 
that they may be better organized and classified, and, 
therefore, be better fitted to serve the children of 
the rural communities. 

One of the important duties of a superintendent 
of schools is, therefore, the proper exercise of his 
authority in directing such an organization and 



136 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

classification of the schools under his supervision as 
will serve the best interests of the pupils. In the 
exercise of this authority, he will have, in working 
out the matters of detail, the loyal support of all 
teachers who are worthy of the freedom which 
rightly belongs to them. In this important and 
necessary work, neither superintendents nor teach- 
ers can afford to waste any time in the consideration 
of the claims made by a few visionary theorists that 
there is no longer any need of the exercise of any au- 
thority in the organization and classification of 
schools, and that both pupils and teachers should be 
given absolute freedom in their work. There is no 
such thing as absolute freedom in the world, either 
in school or out of it. Willing obedience to whole- 
some authority is the price which must always be 
paid for genuine freedom. Just as the citizen who 
most readily obeys the laws of his country, is the 
one who complains the least about the proper ex- 
ercise of rightly constituted authority, so the teacher 
or pupil who most readily responds to the authority 
of the superintendent, is the one who complains the 
least about the wholesome regulations of the school. 
Just as the individual who prates the most about the 
interference of authority with his individual free- 
dom is not infrequently the anarchist who ought to 
be in jail, so the teacher or pupil who is always 
talking about individual rights and always demand- 
ing special privileges, too often belongs to the class 
who have mistaken their unfortunate peculiarities 
for strong individuality and who are most in need 
of the control and direction of the superintendent. 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 137 

Not only is the organization of schools into 
classes of reasonable size desirable from an educa- 
tional standpoint, but such organization is a neces- 
sity from a financial standpoint. The suggestion, 
made by extremists who condemn all organization 
and classification, and who fail to see any good in 
class spirit or class enthusiasm, that "one teacher 
to about five children would be about right," is so 
impractical in its nature and so impossible of execu- 
tion as to render it unworthy of serious considera- 
tion. To carry out such a suggestion would neces- 
sitate an expenditure of from five to eight times the 
amount of money now paid for teachers' salaries, 
with a corresponding increase in the cost of school 
rooms and equipment. The impossibility of realiz- 
ing such an ideal, even if it were worthy of realiza- 
tion, will be evident to any one who will compute 
the cost of such realization in his district, village, 
town, city, or state. 

It is plainly evident that harmful results must 
also follow an unwise use or abuse of authority, 
should the superintendent demand a too rigid ad- 
herence to the course of study prescribed for the 
guidance of teachers in directing the work of their 
pupils. It is often claimed by the critics of the pub- 
lic schools that teachers are not allowed any free- 
dom in the use of the course of study ; that all pupils 
in the same grade in all of the schools, regardless 
of conditions, are compelled to be at the same place 
in the study of the same subject on the same day; 
that all classes of the same grade must do exactly 
the same amount of work in a specified time, 



138 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

whatever their abilities may be; that teachers 
of ten-talent, five-talent, and one-talent schools 
must all render the same account of their steward- 
ship; and that as a result not only individual 
pupils, but entire classes of pupils, are either 
stretched or contracted to meet the absolutely un- 
changeable demands of an absolutely fixed course 
of study. In the great majority of instances inves- 
tigation will prove the entire absence of any founda- 
tion for the existence of such criticism. As a rule 
teachers, whose judgment is worthy of considera- 
tion are not only consulted in the preparation of the 
course of study which is to serve as their guide, but 
they are also given a large amount of liberty in so 
adapting the course adopted as to meet the varying 
conditions and needs of the schools which they teach. 
In any system of schools there are usually a few 
teachers who need very definite guidance, both in 
what they do and in what they teach. Unless the 
authority of the superintendent and his assistants 
is exercised in giving such guidance, such teachers 
are liable either to miss the road entirely, to travel 
in the wrong direction, or to go off on every path 
that happens to look inviting to them, with the re- 
sult that their pupils fail to learn with any degree 
of thoroughness many things of fundamental im- 
portance and are, therefore, unprepared later on to 
do the work which is necessary to be done. While 
slavery to a course of study is to be greatly deplored 
and the abuse of authority which leads to such 
slavery is to be severely condemned, on the other 
hand the determined attempt of any teacher to 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 139 

ignore the requirements of a wisely planned course 
of study should meet with prompt and positive dis- 
approval on the part of those who are responsible 
for the work of the schools. 

Not only is it important that teachers recog- 
nize the value of a wisely planned course of study 
and willingly strive to meet, in so far as possible, 
its requirements as they apply to the grades or 
classes which they teach, but it is also equally im- 
portant that they possess a general knowledge of 
the requirements of the entire course and an inti- 
mate acquaintance with the work to be done not 
only in their own grades and classes but also in the 
grades and classes which immediately precede or 
follow. 

An efficient superintendent, will, therefore, ex- 
ercise his authority in securing a reasonable and 
faithful adherence to the course of study by in- 
dividual teachers in the grades or classes which 
they teach and in insisting that all teachers shall 
maintain a vital interest in the work of other grades 
or classes with which their own work is so intimately 
related. Unwillingness of a teacher to co-operate 
with the superintendent in securing a reasonable 
and faithful adherence to a wisely planned course 
of study is an indication of insubordination which 
cannot be excused because of any false claim to in- 
dividual freedom. Inability of a teacher so to co- 
operate is an indication of inefficiency which must 
result in harm to the schools if permitted to con- 
tinue. 

Slavery to the use of textbooks is another harm- 



140 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

ful result which will follow an unwise use or abuse 
of authority by a superintendent who unduly mag- 
nifies the importance of knowledge gained from 
books and who fails to understand or to appreciate 
the value of information gained by intelligent ob- 
servation and study of nature and life. It is possible 
to follow the textbook so closely, in teaching sub- 
jects which bear an intimate relation to nature and 
life, that the child will fail to realize the existence 
of such a relation. As a result, the child will form 
the habit of memorizing and repeating in parrot- 
like manner what the author of the textbook has 
recorded, with no thought of making any observa- 
tions or of conducting any investigations of his own. 
Under such teaching it is possible for pupils of cer- 
tain types to go through school without discovering 
that there are many things worth knowing, which 
must be learned outside of textbooks. The follow- 
ing outline of an incident, related a few years since 
by William Hawley Smith to a small group of 
friends who were discussing textbook teaching, will 
serve to illustrate the dangers of overdoing it. 

Shortly after this noted author and lecturer 
had delivered one of his stirring addresses on educa- 
tion, a young principal of a village school, who had 
heard the address and who was evidently much im- 
pressed with its earnest appeal for a broader recog- 
nition of the varied capacities of children, met Mr. 
Smith on the train and, after introducing himself, 
related his experience in substance as follows: 

Your lecture convinced me that I was adhering too 
closely to the subject matter of the textbooks, and as a result 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 141 

almost entirely neglecting the training of the powers of 
observation possessed by the children. I returned to my 
school determined to reform my methods of teaching so that 
the pupils in my classes would have their attention directed 
daily to matters of interest outside of books. My school is 
located in a village surrounded by a farming community, 
whose chief product is corn, thousands of bushels of which 
are stored in cribs not far from the school house. This 
corn attracts rats in large numbers and I thought that, if 
there is any object in the world with which the children are 
familiar, that object is certainly a rat. I closed the recita- 
tion in the textbook sooner than usual, in order to have a 
few minutes for outside work in the form of an observation 
lesson, and proceeded to begin my reform. I asked the chil- 
dren how many of them had ever seen a rat and at once 
had a showing of hands which proved that all were familiar 
with the object about which the observation lesson to 
be given centered. I then asked a second question, which I 
predicted all could not immediately answer correctly, inas- 
much as a correct answer would require close observation, 
which I feared they were not all in the habit of making. 
This second question called for definite information relative 
to the length of hair on a rat's tail. The answers varied, 
from a small fraction of an inch to several inches. The 
"critical moment" had arrived. The time was at hand 
for a most impressive first lesson in the reform movement 
which would take the thought of the children from textbooks, 
center their attention upon the object under consideration, 
and teach them the importance of making observations at 
first hand. Calling attention for a moment to the great 
difference in the answers to the question and to the fact 
that there could be but one correct answer, I asked how that 
correct answer could be determined. One boy immediately 
signified by uplifted hand a readiness to respond. He was 
asked to do so and replied, 

"Look it up in the dictionary!" 



142 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

While it is possible to give so much attention 
to textbook lessons and books of reference, as sources 
of information, that children will gain the false im- 
pression that any question in dispute can be settled 
by "looking it up" in the dictionary or encyclopedia, 
it is also possible to go to the other extreme of 
spending an undue amount of time in so-called 
observation or development lessons with the result 
that children will become incapable of sitting 
down alone, and, unaided, of getting from books 
the lessons which can be learned from no other 
source. While the training of the observation 
is exceedingly important in order that the senses 
may be cultivated to take in impressions from the 
outside, it is equally important that the power to 
get thought from the printed page be developed in 
order that the recorded results of the investigations 
and thinking of the greatest minds of the world 
may be understood and appreciated. 

An efficient superintendent will wisely exercise 
a sufficient amount of authority in directing the 
teaching in the schools under his control to secure 
a well-balanced training for the children in the ob- 
servation of nature, the study of objects, and the 
mastery of textbooks. And capable teachers will 
avoid on the one hand the extreme which confines 
the lessons to the textbook and on the other hand 
the other extreme which substitutes lectures by the 
teacher for the study of lessons in the textbook 
which have been carefully outlined and definitely as- 
signed for preparation by the pupils. 

In the earlier years of the history of school 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 143 

supervision with its accompanying organization and 
classification of schools and adoption of courses of 
study dealing in a large measure with the subject 
matter of textbooks, there was, no doubt, a tendency 
to overemphasize the importance of formal examina- 
tions as a means of testing the products of teaching 
and of determining the fitness of pupils for pro- 
motion. In some instances examinations were 
held each month in each subject and the success or 
failure of pupils at the end of the term or year was 
determined wholly and finally by whether or not 
their average of examination grades reached a cer- 
tain fixed and inflexible standard determined by the 
authority of the school as represented by its super- 
intendent, who prepared the examination questions 
in each branch of study in all the grades of the 
school. Under such a system of promotions the 
judgment of the teacher was largely ignored. And 
both teachers and pupils used all their time and 
energy in an attempt to prepare for the examina- 
tion, upon whose results depended the success of the 
teacher in the past and the hope of the pupil for the 
future. To pass or not to pass was the question 
uppermost in the minds of all. Grades were the 
all important ends and aims of school work. 

In the laudable attempt to correct this extreme 
use, or rather this abuse of examinations, it is pos- 
sible that the opposite extreme has been reached at 
present in many schools and that, as a result, pupils 
today, instead of suffering the wrongs incident to 
too many and too technical examinations upon which 
everything is made to depend, are now the victims of 



144 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

no examinations at all and, as a result, go through 
school without an opportunity to receive the educa- 
tional benefit which undoubtedly comes from the 
written examination properly conducted as a test 
of knowledge. Under the old regime, teachers 
taught and pupils prepared their lessons with the 
nightmare of the final examination constantly in 
mind. They drilled and crammed, in the hope that 
a passing grade might be secured, and with the 
feeling that failure to pass meant disgrace. Under 
the new regime, pupils prepare for a passing grade 
in the passing recitation, in the hope that no final 
examination will ever test their understanding of a 
subject once recited, or their retentive power in 
being able to recall important fundamental facts and 
principles, and with the feeling that to escape an 
examination is indeed a high honor. 

While it is wrong in both theory and practice 
to give no consideration, in determining the stand- 
ing and promotion of pupils, to their work in the 
daily recitation, on the other hand, to make the 
marks given by the teacher in the daily recitation 
the one factor in determining such standing and 
promotion, and to excuse all pupils who recite 
well day by day from all formal tests, constitute a 
policy which, although both general and popular, 
may well be questioned. There are good reasons to 
believe that pupils who really do well in the daily 
recitation, should be glad of an opportunity to prove 
their worth in a fair examination, conducted in such 
a manner, and with questions of such a nature, as 
to constitute a welcome test instead of a dreaded 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 145 

temptation, as has too often been the case in the 
past when examinations were made up of questions 
which tested the memory alone or which were pre- 
pared with the purpose of "catching" the unwary 
or frightening the timid. It is certainly unreason- 
able, unfair, and unjust to ignore the judgment of 
teachers in estimating the standing and in determin- 
ing the promotion of pupils. But to make teachers 
the sole judges of such standing and promotion is 
to impose upon them a responsibility from which 
they may v/ell shrink. The better the judgment of 
teachers the more anxious they are to have their 
judgment supplemented by the judgment of the 
principal or superintendent, based upon a fair test 
of their work by means of a fair examination of 
their pupils. 

A superintendent has abundant justification for 
exercising his authority in submitting pupils to fair 
and reasonable examinations at such times and 
under such circumstances as he may deem wise, with 
the purpose of testing both the knowledge of the 
pupils and the ability of teachers in imparting 
knowledge, and in using the results of such examina- 
tions in connection with the estimates of the teach- 
ers in marking the standing, and in determining the 
promotion of pupils. Well taught pupils and capable 
teachers have nothing to fear from the exercise of 
such authority and will gladly respond to such a 
test. 

The relation of superintendent to teachers 
should be constantly characterized by the exercise 
of mutual sympathy in the work of the school. As 

10 



146 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

a rule, and there are few, if any exceptions to this 
rule, the superintendent should have had actual ex- 
perience as a teacher and thereby know at first hand 
the difficulties which beset the pathway of the 
teacher. It is only by means of such experience 
that genuine sympathy for the teacher is born. No 
amount of training in the theory of education or of 
the study of ideal school administration can take 
the place of this experience. A superintendent 
without it is in constant danger of assuming, per- 
haps unconsciously to himself, but nevertheless, 
obviously to all but himself, the attitude of an un- 
sympathetic commander who demands that his 
teachers shall do what he orders, rather than that 
of a sympathetic leader who inspires them to follow 
his leadership. A superintendent who is so unfor- 
tunate as to be without experience as a teacher, can 
best show his wisdom and most readily gain the 
sympathy of his teachers, by manifesting a willing- 
ness to learn from them the lessons which they have 
learned by experience. Were it possible for 
teachers to know from experience the difficulties 
which so often confront the superintendent, they 
would be better prepared to sympathize with him 
in his work and would be less apt to criticise his 
actions. Generally, however, teachers readily re- 
spond to the wishes of a tactful, sympathetic super- 
intendent who treats his co-workers with that re- 
spect and consideration which always characterize 
the real leader. 

The relation of superintendent to teachers 
should also always be characterized by unswerving 



RELATION OF SUPERINTENDENT TO TEACHERS 147 

loyalty to one another and to the highest and best 
interests of the schools which they have been elected 
to serve. All claims to respect are forfeited by the 
superintendent who is so lacking in frankness and 
courage that he will hesitate to tell the teachers, 
themselves, of their incompetency and failure 
which he is free to discuss in their absence. To 
recommend teachers for dismissal without having 
tried, in every reasonable way, to help them to suc- 
ceed, or without having notified them of the intended 
recommendation, is unfair and unjust. Teachers 
who are given due consideration and fair treatment 
by a frank, courageous, loyal superintendent, and 
who will not loyally respond to all the reason- 
able requirements made by him, should be promptly 
notified that their disloyalty will not be tolerated 
and that, if persisted in, their dismissal will cer- 
tainly follow. In the administration of either a 
government or a school system there is no place for 
traitors. 

With the rightful authority of the superin- 
tendent rightfully recognized and wisely exercised, 
with the individual freedom of the teacher properly 
conceived and wisely used, with mutual sympathy 
and unswerving loyalty characterizing all the ac- 
tions of both, there will be secured and maintained 
such a relation between superintendent and teachers 
as will guarantee to the schools and the children for 
whom the schools exist, the largest measure of con- 
tinuous success. 



CHAPTER X 
SCHOOL SENTIMENT 

WHEREVER we go, under whatever condi- 
ditions we are placed, by whatever cir- 
cumstances we are surrounded, we 
always find a constant, powerful force at work, 
molding character, directing energy, stimulating 
effort, and to a very great extent, guiding and con- 
trolling the thoughts, actions, and destinies of the 
great masses of the people. This force we call pub- 
lic sentiment. 

History is largely a record of what has been 
accomplished for humanity by the force of this pub- 
lic sentiment. Tyrannical forms of government 
have crumbled into dust and upon their ruins have 
been built up governments of the people, by the 
people, for the people, largely as the result of a pub- 
lic sentiment which demanded that human rights 
should be recognized and human freedom guaran- 
teed. Political parties have gone down to defeat 
and in their stead other parties have arisen only to 
meet the same fate when they have failed either to 
recognize or to obey public sentiment. Corrupt forms 
of religion, based upon superstition and hatred, 
have been compelled to die as they should. In their 
place has come the religion of faith in God and love 
for men, the outgrowth of a sentiment bom of and 
developed by Him who spake as never man spake. 

(148) 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 149 

In current events — history in the making — 
can constantly be seen the results of the influence of 
this same public sentiment. In some communities 
there is a well developed public sentiment which 
sanctions the laws enacted for their government and 
demands that these laws be rigidly enforced both in 
letter and in spirit. In other communities similar 
laws are ignored or openly and flagrantly violated, 
because the public sentiment is either indifferent to 
law enforcement or openly defiant against the re- 
strictions which these laws impose. Laws which 
are not the crystallization of an intelligent public 
sentiment and which do not, therefore, meet the ap- 
proval of a majority of the people to whom they 
apply, are usually dead letters upon the statute 
books. Such laws are really a menace to the wel- 
fare of any government in so far as they at least 
indirectly lower respect for authority and teach dis- 
obedience to law. 

The fundamental principle in law enactment 
and enforcement, that law should represent intelli- 
gent public sentiment to make it enforceable, is now 
quite generally recognized in legislating upon all 
questions relating to the public welfare, such as san- 
itation and the prevention and cure of disease. Even 
in legislating upon great moral issues, such as tem- 
perance, the same principle is generally recognized. 
Local option laws are based upon the correct theory 
that the majority of the people have a right, under 
our form of government, to determine whether the 
saloon shall continue to exist or not ; that they have 
a right to give expression to their sentiment upon 



150 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

such a question; and that, when public sentiment, 
as indicated by the vote of a majority, decrees that 
the saloon must cease to exist, the wishes of the 
majority must be respected. Starting with the ex- 
pressed sentiment of the people in the small unit of 
the township oi: ward, this sentiment against the 
menace of the saloon has gradually grown, and, with 
its growth, the size of the unit has expanded, until 
the movement against the saloon is now nation-wide 
in its scope. 

In the development of such public sentiment 
education is the largest factor. In the work of 
educating public sentiment to favor measures of 
health and to oppose the evils due to intemperance, 
the public schools have been a mighty influence. 
For a quarter of a century, the teachers in these 
schools have carefully instilled into the minds and 
hearts of their pupils lessons in physiology with 
special reference to the laws of health and to the 
evil effects of alcohol and narcotics upon the human 
system. No doubt, some of this teaching has been 
unscientific and poorly done. But the beneficial 
results of it are today everywhere manifest in an 
awakened intelligence relating to both indi- 
vidual and public health and in an aroused con- 
science on the temperance question. That the two 
questions uppermost in the public mind today are 
those of sanitation and temperance is due in a 
large measure to the work of the public schools 
in training a new generation of citizens who, as 
the result of such training, think intelligently upon 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 151 

questions of public welfare and feel deeply upon 
questions of moral significance. 

Some well-intentioned but inconsiderate people 
think that the mere passage of a law will insure 
the immediate correction of a wrong or a sworn 
allegiance to the right. Such people seem to 
imagine that if there were only laws providing 
for piety and wealth, we should all awaken some 
morning both righteous and rich, without any effort 
on our own part. As a result of such agitation, 
without the education which should always accom- 
pany agitation in the interests of any worthy cause, 
the statute books of all the different states in the 
Union and of the Union, itself, are not infrequently 
encumbered with laws which have no good reason 
for existence. 

There is a tradition that, at one time, an abso- 
lute monarch, in a moment of good natured in- 
dulgence gave to his subjects the right to elect a 
legislature to enact laws for the public good. In 
this grant of power to the people there was a dis- 
tinct provision that any one who presented a bill 
for consideration with the purpose of having it 
enacted into law, must do so with a noose around 
his neck. In the event that his bill became a law 
and proved to be a real benefit to the people, because 
it provided for a public need, represented intelligent 
public sentiment, and was, therefore, capable of 
enforcement, the noose would at once be removed 
and the lawmaker be given his full freedom. Should 
the opposite conditions prevail, however, and the 



152 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

enacted law prove to be harmful and worthless be- 
cause it failed to meet a real need, or to represent 
real public sentiment, and, therefore, be incapable 
of enforcement, the noose would be tightened and 
the lawmaker be removed from the scene of action. 
It is not difficult to imagine what would happen were 
such a provision in force in our state and national 
governments at the present time. One of two results 
would certainly follow — either fewer unnecessary 
and harmful laws would be enacted or an increas- 
ing number of legislators who are responsible for 
such laws, would suffer the penalty provided for 
them. 

Public sentiment is also a large factor in deter- 
mining the conduct of individuals in any com- 
munity. Where public sentiment strongly upholds 
the right and condemns the wrong, it is easy to do 
right and to avoid wrong. Where public sentiment 
approves acts of questionable morality, withholds 
its disapproval of wrongdoing, or is even indif- 
ferent to standards of conduct, the natural tendency 
of all who come under the influence of such 
sentiment, is to lower their ideals of duty and 
to become careless in their habits of living. Even 
those whose consciences will not permit them to 
surrender to untoward influences and whose wills 
are strong enough to withstand the force of a de- 
graded public sentiment, find the struggle both 
difficult and constant. 

Intelligent public sentiment is a powerful influ- 
ence not only in the enactment of needed legislation 
and in the enforcement of desirable laws in the 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 153 

community, and in making it easy to do right and to 
avoid wrong but also in acting as a deterrent to 
wrongdoing by the public condemnation which it 
visits on the wrongdoer. No greater punishment 
can come to any one who still has any self-respect 
or any regard for the opinion of his f ellowmen, than 
the knowledge that he is condemned by public sen- 
timent righteously indignant because of some offense 
committed by him. The disgrace and humiliation 
connected with such condemnation not infrequently 
result in declining health and sometimes in death 
itself. It is, therefore, exceedingly important that 
all who are in any way responsible for the education 
and direction of public sentiment should exercise 
great care in order that no injustice be done to any 
one. Misdirected or uncontrolled public sentiment, 
unwilling to wait until all the facts are known or to 
abide by the decisions of the courts, in moments of 
passion, sometimes manifests itself in the acts of 
the lawless mob so abhorrent to all law-abiding citi- 
zens. 

Just as public sentiment is intimately related 
to the life and welfare of a community, so school 
sentiment is equally intimately related to the life 
and welfare of the school. In community life the 
conduct of the great majority of the citizens is 
neither largely influenced nor definitely determined 
by laws prescribing duties and penalties for the 
violation of such laws, but by public sentiment 
which approves some acts as right and disapproves 
other acts as wrong. In a school the behavior of 
the great majority of the pupils is determined not 



154 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

by the specific rules and regulations prescribed by 
the teachers or other school authorities but by the 
school sentiment which characterizes the school. In 
a community of high ideals of life and living and 
a strong public sentiment for right doing, few laws 
are needed for the control of the citizens. In a 
school of similar character few rules are necessary 
for the direction of pupils. In a community of low 
ideals and of little regard for properly constituted 
authority, laws cannot be enforced. In a school of 
low ideals of obedience and respectful consideration 
for teachers, rules are always a dead letter. In a 
community intelligent public sentiment is largely 
the result of education. School sentiment can be 
developed and maintained only by the same process. 
In a community, the condemnation of an indignant 
public sentiment is a powerful factor in preventing 
wrongdoing on the part of citizens. In a school, 
boys and girls usually dread the condemnation 
of their schoolmates and, as a result, are often kept 
from doing wrong. In a community, misdirected or 
uncontrolled public sentiment occasionally manifests 
itself in lawless acts against which the sense of 
justice of all good citizens protests and to the aboli- 
tion of which the efforts of all good citizens are 
constantly directed. In a school, misdirected or 
hastily formed school sentiment or opinion, unless 
wisely restrained by competent teachers, may oc- 
casionally work serious injury to a suspected but 
innocent pupil. 

Teachers who understand and appreciate the 
great influence which school sentiment exerts in the 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 155 

discipline and work of the school, place little de- 
pendence upon rules and regulations. They strive 
constantly to create and maintain such a sentiment 
among the pupils as will make good behavior the 
surest means of securing the good opinion of their 
schoolmates and the approval of their teachers. On 
the other hand, the pupils will be made to feel that 
the one certain punishment resulting from misbe- 
havior will be the condemnation of their school- 
mates and the disapproval of their teachers. An 
occasional rule with a definite punishment for its 
transgression may be necessary to meet some special 
offense in the school just as a few laws with pre- 
scribed penalties for their violation are needed to 
punish the crimes and misdemeanors of a few in- 
dividuals in society, who are not amenable to the 
demands of public sentiment. 

Occasionally there may still be found a teacher 
with his code of rules for the government of the 
school, but fortunately this type is rapidly becoming 
extinct. Within the last few years, however, a rep- 
resentative of this disappearing race called at the 
office of a state superintendent of public instruction, 
in company with his daughter, who was attempting 
to teach a district school in the county in which the 
state capital was located. The father had been a 
teacher, himself, in the "good old days" when pupils 
were informed what not to do by a code of rules 
placed in a conspicuous place in the school room. 
He at once stated that he had called upon the state 
superintendent to ask what authority a board of 
education had in administering the affairs of the 



156 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

school. He was informed that the board had full 
authority to direct the schools under their control. 
He then inquired whether or not it was the duty 
of the board to make rules for the government of 
the children in school. In replying to this, the state 
superintendent suggested that, under ordinary con- 
ditions, very few rules, if any, are necessary or de- 
sirable, and asked the father to state the nature of 
the difficulty encountered by his daughter in teach- 
ing the school and what action he thought necessary 
on the part of the board of education, to help her in 
overcoming the difficulty. The reply was that his 
daughter was greatly annoyed by whispering in 
school and that he thought the board should make a 
rule prohibiting it. To this only one response could 
be made, viz.: that such annoyances as whispering 
cannot be regulated by rules. The disappointment 
which this response gave to the visitors was plainly 
manifest. The young teacher returned to her school, 
perhaps sadder, certainly no wiser, and doomed to 
the inevitable failure which must come to any 
teacher who imagines that success in discipline is 
dependent upon rules which prohibit wrong conduct 
by pupils. 

The importance of a strong school sentiment is 
evident to all teachers who have sensible theories 
regarding school discipline, or who have had suc- 
cessful experience in the management of a real 
school. It is not, therefore, necessary to discuss at 
length the necessity of cultivating such a sentiment 
in the life of the school. It is important, however, 
that careful consideration be given to the funda- 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 157 

mental factors which enter into successful school 
management and to the intimate relation which the 
creation and maintenance of a wholesome school 
sentiment bear to the success of both helpful dis- 
cipline and effective teaching. 

Since no school can hope for any large degree 
of success without regular and prompt attendance, 
it is imperative that this necessary factor should 
receive primary attention. Irregular attendance 
and habitual tardiness of even a few pupils 
have a demoralizing effect upon the entire school. 
Successful teachers, therefore, always strive so 
to direct the sentiment of the school that regular 
and prompt attendance is considered an honor not 
only to the individual pupil but also to the school of 
which he is a part. When the proper school senti- 
ment exists, inexcusable absence and unnecessary 
tardiness are certain to meet with the condemnation 
of the school whose pupils have a just pride in its 
standing and rightfully resent anything which in- 
jures its good name. 

In securing prompt and regular attendance, 
rules are of little or no value, while school sentiment 
is all powerful. An inspection of school attendance 
statistics will not infrequently show that in one dis- 
trict of a township, the percentage of the enumera- 
tion enrolled and the percentage of the enrollment 
in regular daily attendance are unusually large, with 
a correspondingly small number of cases of tardi- 
ness. In another district of the same township, with 
precisely the same physical conditions, exactly op- 
posite conditions prevail. Sometimes in the same 



158 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

grade of the same building of a city school, one 
room will have an almost perfect attendance record 
with little or no tardiness. Another room across the 
hall will keep the truant officer busy looking after 
unexcused cases of absence and will be constantly 
annoyed by an ever increasing number of cases 
of tardiness. The marked difference in results 
achieved in attendance in different schools in coun- 
try, town, or city, is due largely to the difference in 
school sentiment created and maintained by different 
teachers. One accurate test of teaching is the char- 
acter of the school sentiment which it produces. 

In order that a wholesome school sentiment 
may be developed among the pupils with reference 
to prompt and regular attendance, it is imperative 
that their teachers, principals, and superintendents 
shall have positive convictions as to the value of 
promptness and regularity in the life of all who are 
to hope to succeed. Irregular attendance and a large 
amount of tardiness should be looked upon as the 
two things most detrimental to the entire school, as 
well as to the individual pupil. It is only when 
these school vices are seriously considered in the 
light of their harmful effects upon character, as well 
as upon success in life, by all persons who are re- 
sponsible for the education and training of boys 
and girls, that the extra and persistent effort neces- 
sary to secure habits of regularity and promptness, 
will be made. 

With the united, determined, and persistent 
effort of teachers, and those who direct and 
supervise them, school sentiment can be so molded 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 159 

that, in a short time, the carelessness and indif- 
ference of pupils in regard to regular and prompt 
attendance will be replaced with a determination 
to make the attendance as nearly perfect as 
conditions will permit and (to eliminate in so far as 
possible all tardiness. In making the effort to bring 
about this desirable state of affairs, it is quite im- 
portant that all who have any part in the manage- 
ment of the school shall fully realize a few funda- 
mental facts. 

A careful study of the subject of attendance and 
tardiness will convince any one that in most 
instances the irregular pupil and the tardy pupil 
are one and the same ; that tardiness is almost never 
necessary ; that the habitually tardy pupil is usually 
the one who lives nearest to the school, has the 
fewest out-of-school duties to perform and, there- 
fore, has the least excuse for tardiness; that ir- 
regularity in attendance seldom results from any- 
thing except the indifference or carelessness of chil- 
dren or parents; and that the overwhelming ma- 
jority of pupils, when properly instructed and di- 
rected, are'both regular and prompt in their attend- 
ance in school. 



CHAPTER XI 

SCHOOL SENTIMENT 
(Continued) 

AS a practical illustration of what can be ac- 
complished in a few months by thq united 
efforts of teachers in securing regularity 
in attendance and in eliminating tardiness, the fol- 
lowing brief summary of the report of the superin- 
tendent of schools in a town located in one of the 
north central states is here given : 



Month 




Number 
Belonging 


o 

C 

-(J 
< 


Per Cent 
of Attend- 
ance 


Number 
Cases of 
Tardiness 


Neither Ab- 
sent nor 
Tardy 


Sept 


882 
840 
835 
825 
845 
830 


762 
808 
814 
801 
804 
784 


732 
783 
794 
783 
778 
762 


96 

97 

97.4 

97.7 

96.8 

97 


31 

19 

14 

6 

1 




428 


Oct 


535 


Nov 


547 


Dec 


577 


Jan 


507 


Feb 


490 







The starting point of the reform which pro- 
duced the rather remarkable results indicated in 
this summary, was the discovery of the newly 
elected superintendent that, in the high school, 
in the first few days after the school opened, 
there had been several cases of tardiness, the ma- 

(160) 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 161 

jority of which were due to a girl who lived within 
a square of the high school building, and all of which 
were unnecessary and inexcusable. This discovery 
led to an investigation which revealed that the 
school sentiment was at such a low ebb that many 
pupils were utterly indifferent to the importance of 
prompt and regular attendance upon their school 
duties. With a firm belief that the future success 
of the school depended in a large measure upon the 
elimination of this indifference by means of the cul- 
tivation of a wholesome school sentiment in favor 
of prompt and regular attendance, the teachers and 
superintendent united in a determined and en- 
thusiastic effort to bring about the necessary change. 
By a little tactful management the determination 
and enthusiasm which characterized this effort of 
the teachers, were easily imparted to the minds and 
hearts of the children and with unanimity of senti- 
ment and effort among pupils and teachers, excel- 
lent results of necessity followed. Every effort was 
made to encourage promptness and to concentrate 
sentiment in its favor. Every room was closely 
watched. The pupils soon found that tardiness was 
in bad repute not only in one room but in all rooms. 
The frown of disapproval certain to meet any one 
who came late and thereby spoiled the record of 
his room became a large factor in the elimination of 
tardiness. The simple request of the superintendent 
that the pupils who were tardy the previous day, 
week, or month, without good excuse, should stand 
before the school, was looked upon as a punishment 
to be avoided by not being tardy. 

11 



162 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

In one of the overcrowded primary rooms en- 
rolling eighty pupils, the attendance, with the excep- 
tion of two boys, was excellent. These boys seemed 
to care for nothing which ordinarily influences the 
conduct of children. They were very irregular in 
their attendance and quite frequently tardy. Al- 
though the excellent teacher in charge of the school 
had put forth every effort to change their attitude 
and improve their attendance, no results for the 
better were manifest. The children became indig- 
nant, and finally one day at noon, a little six-year- 
old came into the room and in an excited manner in- 
formed the teacher that they could not make "them 
bad boys" go home. The teacher, not understanding 
what was meant, inquired into the trouble and found 
that "them bad boys" were the two irregular pupils 
who had been waited upon by a very large com- 
mittee of their classmates who, feeling disgraced by 
the way in which they were acting, had tried to 
make them go home. 

No doubt some readers will be ready to say at 
this point that while the cultivation of such a school 
sentiment may tend to reduce tardiness, the final 
result will be that the dread of being tardy will be- 
come so great that many pupils will remain away 
entirely rather than come to school a few minutes 
late. While this may occasionally occur in a school 
taught by a teacher who has not the skill to control 
the sentiment of the school, such instances are ex- 
ceedingly rare. In the school referred to in this dis- 
cussion, out of an enrollment of nearly nine hundred 
children, only ten cases of this kind occurred in the 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 163 

five months included in the summarized report found 
at the beginning of this chapter, and these in the 
first month or two. In the last two months only 
one case occurred. The universal testimony of all 
the teachers was that as tardiness decreased, 
the attendance grew better. Without a single ex- 
ception, the rooms having the least tardiness in any 
one of the five months, had the largest percent of 
attendance and the largest number of pupils 
neither absent nor tardy. The summary shows 
the same results for the entire school. It will 
be noted that in September, with a percent of 
attendance of 96 and with 428 pupils neither absent 
nor tardy, there were 31 cases of tardiness ; in Octo- 
ber, with the percent of attendance 97, and with 535 
pupils neither absent nor tardy, the number of cases 
of tardiness was reduced to 19; in November the 
number of cases of tardiness was still further re- 
duced to 15, while the percent of attendance was 
97.4, and the number neither absent nor tardy was 
547 ; in December there were only 6 cases of tardi- 
ness, with the percent of attendance increased to 
97.7, and the number neither absent nor tardy 
577. The decrease in the percent of attendance and 
in the number neither absent nor tardy in January, 
when there was only one case of tardiness, and 
again in February, when there was not a single case 
of tardiness in the entire school, was due entirely to 
sickness including several cases of measles and a 
few cases of scarlet fever, which compelled a num- 
ber of the most regular and punctual pupils to 
remain at home. 



164 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

While each teacher must, in a large measure, 
be responsible for the sentiment and discipline in 
her own room, it is the duty, and should be the 
pleasure, of every principal and superintendent to 
aid the teacher in every way possible in the cultiva- 
tion of a proper school sentiment and in the right 
discipline of the school. There are at least two im- 
portant ways in which such aid can be given. 

In nearly every school there are a few children, 
just as in nearly every community there are a few 
men and women, who care nothing for the good 
opinion of those with whom they associate. Such 
children are indifferent to any school sentiment, 
however wholesome and uplifting it may be. In 
dealing with at least some of these few pupils, the 
teacher has a right to expect that the principal or 
superintendent shall give sympathetic advice and 
occasionally a helping hand. In one of the rooms of 
the school referred to in this chapter, was a boy 
who was constitutionally lazy and habitually slow in 
all his movements. He was a source of annoyance 
to his teacher and to his classmates who were in con- 
stant dread that he would be tardy, spoil their al- 
most perfect record, and have a bad effect upon the 
school. One morning when he had walked to school 
in his provokingly leisurely manner and was on the 
verge of being tardy, the superintendent who was 
usually found near the entrance of the main build- 
ing at the opening hour, gently lifted him by the 
coat collar and quickly but quietly carried him into 
his school room, to the great surprise of the boy 
and to the great delight of the other children. He 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 165 

was not hurt at all but the surprise seemed to arouse 
him to the importance of more rapid movements es- 
pecially when schoolward bound. After this ex- 
perience, he was one of the promptest boys in school. 

The superintendent or principal can also be of 
grreat assistance to teachers in creating and main- 
taining proper school sentiment and right school 
discipline, by friendly conferences with parents 
whose children may not be living up to their best in 
their school life. In such conferences parents should 
be treated with all the respect which is their due, 
but also with a firmness which will command their 
respect for the school and its teachers. Usually 
parents will readily respond to the courteous appeals 
of teachers to help them in making the school a 
success by sending their children to school regularly 
and on time. In a few instances, however, parents 
can be found, who think that, if pupils prepare their 
lessons well, and are in school, especially the high 
school, in time to recite, all reasonable requirements 
have been met. Such parents need to be shown that 
the preparation and recital of lessons, while ex- 
ceedingly important, do not include all of school life 
and that the good of the school as a whole, as well 
as the welfare of the individual pupil in forming 
right habits of conduct, necessitates that all pupils 
should cheerfully respond to all reasonable require- 
ments of the school. 

Weekly and monthly reports of the whole 
school, in which the attendance, tardiness, and other 
important matters of interest in each room are given 
prominence, should be made out carefully, regularly, 



166 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

and promptly by the superintendent or principal. 
These reports should be printed on a duplicating ma- 
chine, which should be a part of the equipment of 
every school, and a copy placed in each room, 
where pupils and teachers can see it, and thus be 
enabled not only to note the record made by their 
own school but also to compare this record with 
that of other schools. By tactful management of 
the teachers of the different schools, a helpful 
rivalry in securing regular attendance and in 
eliminating tardiness can be created in all the 
schools. 

While no definite rules can be prescribed for 
the cultivation of a wholesome school sentiment in 
favor of regularity and promptness, all teachers who 
hope to succeed in creating or maintaining such 
sentiment, must possess and constantly cultivate two 
very important characteristics. 

No teacher can hope to create a sentiment in 
favor of promptness on the part of children who is 
not a model of promptness, herself. This prompt- 
ness must be habitual and must show itself in all 
her acts, outside of the school room as well as in it. 
Very little credit is due any teacher for being on 
time in the performance of the ordinary, daily duties 
of the school. The rules of any well directed school 
require promptness of all teachers and no teacher 
can hope to retain her position for any length of 
time and fail to meet this reasonable requirement. 
Boys and girls know this and are not, therefore, 
greatly influenced by the promptness of their teach- 
ers in school. They are, however, profoundly in- 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 167 

fluenced for good or ill by the habits of their teachers 
outside of school. A concrete illustration, drawn 
from an actual experience of a superintendent of 
schools, will serve to make this plain. 

This superintendent, upon special invitation of 
the boys of one of the grammar grades of the 
school under his direction, joined them on a Satur- 
day picnic excursion, knowing that on such an oc- 
casion, the boys would reveal their real nature, as 
boys never do in the school room. Resting under a 
tree within hearing distance of a group of the live- 
liest boys in the school, he heard a most interesting 
conversation relating to their teacher. The cul- 
mination of this conversation was the following 
most suggestive comment from the leader of the 
group : 

"She needn't always be talking to me about coming to 
school on time. I'm in her Sunday School class and she's 
late every Sunday." 

A second necessary characteristic of the teacher 
who hopes to succeed in creating and maintaining a 
proper school sentiment in favor of regularity and 
promptness, or any other school virtue, is a cheer- 
ful readiness to show appreciation of the efforts of 
the pupils to come to school every day on time, or 
to do any thing which will add to the good name 
of the entire school, and to the welfare of the indi- 
vidual pupil. In this work, the superintendent or 
principal with an interest in all the schools should 
exert a most helpful influence. In the town, whose 
schools are the subject of frequent reference in this 
chapter, an opportunity came for the superintendent 



168 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

to help in a manner which was greatly appreciated 
by the children and which served to crystallize a 
strong sentiment among them for regular and 
prompt attendance. 

On one morning the ground was so icy that 
walking was dangerous. All the teachers feared 
that a large majority of the pupils would not come 
at all, but all were most pleasantly surprised to find 
that over ninety percent of the children were in 
school on time. When this information was 
telephoned to the superintendent, he immediately 
determined that a fine opportunity had come to him 
to put forth extra effort to show his appreciation of 
the extra effort of the boys and girls, under un- 
favorable conditions. With considerable difficulty 
each room of the four different buildings was vis- 
ited in order that the pupils might know that the 
superintendent, who had to walk much farther than 
any of them over the same icy pavements, was 
genuinely grateful to them for being in school 
when it was so difficult to come. In order to 
show appreciation in a practical manner, the chil- 
dren in each room were informed that the school 
board of the town were also so well pleased with 
their attendance that morning that they had di- 
rected that the schools should remain in session in 
the forenoon for a half hour longer than usual and 
that the pupils should be dismissed for the remain- 
der of the day. The hearty applause which greeted 
this announcement in each room still rings in the 
ears of that superintendent and will always remain 
with him in memory as the sincere expression of 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 169 

gratitude of the boys and girls who were happy in 
the knowledge that their efforts to reach school on 
time under difficulty were appreciated by their 
teachers, their superintendent, and the school board. 
This incident had no little to do with crystallizing 
the sentiment of the pupils in favor of the regularity 
and promptness which were shown in such a marked 
way in the months and years which followed in their 
school days and in developing fixed habits of life 
after school days were over. 

Another important aid in securing regular and 
prompt attendance in school is found in home visita- 
tion by teachers and principals or superintendents, 
with the purpose of showing their interest in the 
welfare of the children and of determining the 
causes of absence and tardiness when they exist. 
Referring once more to the school, to which atten- 
tion has been frequently called, an illustration of 
the effectiveness of this home visitation will be 
found, which may be suggestively helpful to 
teachers. 

In the month of October, it will be noted in the 
report, there were nineteen cases of tardiness 
in the entire school. Seven of these were caused 
by the pupils attending a colored school taught 
by an excellent colored teacher who became 
very much discouraged by what seemed to him the 
hopeless task of getting the children of a few fam- 
ilies to come to school on time. In company with 
the teacher the superintendent visited the homes 
from which these children came. The parents were 
plainly and frankly told how unfavorably the school 



170 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

which their children attended compared with the 
other schools of the town. The determination of 
teachers to break up the tardiness which resulted 
entirely from carelessness, was discussed and an 
appeal was made to the parents to aid in the work. 
Several visits were made to one of these homes be- 
fore the mother was seen. These repeated visits 
were made necessary because the mother, finding out 
in some way that the calls were about to be made, 
would go out of the back door and disappear down 
the alley, as her callers entered the front gate. Upon 
being captured finally, as the result of a flank 
movement, the old colored. woman stood trembling 
in the presence of her visitors, evidently almost 
overcome with fear. It was soon learned that 
her strange actions were due to the fact that an 
older boy was in jail because of some misdemeanor, 
and the mother imagined that the young boy who 
was attending school, had also gotten into trouble 
of some kind. When assured by her visitors that 
they had come on a kindly errand to find out why 
her boy was not in school regularly and on time and 
to ask her to help in keeping him in school, she broke 
down completely and with a pathetic earnestness 
never to be forgotten by the visitors, she thanked 
them for their interest and added, "I never knowed 
before that anybody cared for my boy." 

As a result of the visits to these homes, the 
month following there were only three cases of tardi- 
ness in the colored school, the succeeding month 
only two cases, while in January and February, there 
was no tardiness at all. The attendance also greatly 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 171 

improved to the benefit of the school and the satis- 
faction of the teacher. Another and far more im- 
portant result of the visits was the greatly increased 
interest and sympathy of the teacher and superin- 
tendent aroused thereby in homes of the type visited. 
Not infrequently in homes of this class, occupied by 
white as well as colored people, there is a feeling 
that no one cares for the welfare of the children in 
them. In many instances a friendly visit by 
the teacher will be the beginning of a new in- 
terest of both children and parents in the work of 
the school. This new interest will often change in- 
difference to co-operation and thereby not only re- 
lieve the teachers of much annoyance and sometimes 
serious trouble, but will also save the children from 
the formation of habits which have much to do with 
failure in after life. 

Possibly some persons who read this chapter 
will object to placing so much emphasis upon the 
regular and prompt attendance of pupils in school. 
It may be claimed by them that tardiness is not im- 
moral and that it is, therefore, wrong to create a 
school sentiment which condemns it so severely. To 
such criticism the one decisive answer is that un- 
necessary tardiness is immoral, at least in the sense 
in which it is unjust, not only to the person whose 
tardiness greatly hinders his own success, but also 
to all others who suffer in loss of valuable time and 
in disarrangement of carefully made plans, because 
some one is late. The laws of the land provide 
severe punishment for any one who robs another of 
material wealth, but there is no recourse open to 



lit OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

any one who is robbed of valuable time by another 
who has no conscience in keeping engagements 
promptly and who has no appreciation of the value 
of time to a busy person or any realization of the 
serious inconvenience caused by his unnecessary 
tardiness. Success or failure in life depends very 
largely upon habits formed in childhood. Among 
the habits which are fundamental in character and 
success, the habit of regularity and promptness 
holds a most important place. In order that this 
habit may be cultivated it is legitimate and right 
that school sentiment shall be so developed and 
directed as to commend strongly regularity and 
promptness and to condemn severely irregularity 
and tardiness. 



CHAPTER XII 

SCHOOL SENTIMENT 
(Continued) 

AFTER the establishment of a school senti- 
ment which brings children to school on 
time and which keeps them in school, in 
so far as possible, every day, the teacher's attention 
and effort should be centered upon the creation and 
maintenance of a strong school sentiment in favor 
of good behavior on the part of pupils. Good be- 
havior means much more than good order as the lat- 
ter phrase is ordinarily used. In the minds of some 
teachers, the demands of good order are fully met 
when pupils keep quiet in the school room. 
Perfect order which manifests itself in the stillness 
of death may result from the exercise of mere 
physical force by a teacher who thereby frightens 
his pupils into keeping still. On the other hand 
good behavior must, to a large extent, be the result 
of an inner desire on the part of pupils to do right 
because it is right and to avoid doing wrong be- 
cause it is wrong. This desire is best cultivated by 
living in a school atmosphere due to a school senti- 
ment in favor of what is right and opposed to what 
is wrong. 

Every one who has successfully taught school 
knows that there is an occasional pupil who will not 
respond to such a school sentiment and who can be 

(173) 



174 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

influenced in his behavior for the right only by a 
wholesome fear of punishment for willful wrong 
doing. In rare instances such punishment must be 
inflicted and no silly sentimentalism should keep a 
teacher from doing his duty when such instances 
arise. It may be true that punishment is a relic of 
barbarism. It is certainly true that an occasional 
barbarian finds his way into the public schools, who 
can be civilized only by making use of the relic. It 
is much better for such a barbarian to be civilized 
even by means of punishment, than to grow up a 
law-defying citizen and, in later life, pay a severe 
penalty for some crime or misdemeanor committed 
by him. In the great majority of instances, how- 
ever, good behavior of pupils can be secured without 
thought or fear of punishment. The stronger the 
school sentiment for good behavior among the pupils 
in school, the less the need of discipline by the 
teacher. 

When the sentiment of the school is strongly in 
favor of good behavior and when high ideals of 
proper conduct are constantly held up before the 
pupils by teachers, who practice what they teach^ 
the results will be plainly seen not only in the school 
room, but also outside of it. Normal children, when 
properly trained and directed, love order rather 
than disorder. They enjoy marching in and out of 
school with systematic precision. They know that 
in their play, right conduct and fair dealing are ab- 
solutely necessary to the success of the game. Even 
in going to and from school the effects of a proper 
sentiment for good behavior among children will be 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 175 

manifest. Many communities can bear testi- 
mony to the marked difference in conduct of school 
boys and girls, when outside of school, under the 
direction of different teachers. A resident of a vil- 
lage returned to his home after an absence of several 
months and noted a decided improvement in the 
behavior of the pupils of the public school as they 
passed his residence, a half mile away from the 
school house. He could hardly realize that they were 
the same boys and girls who, the previous year, had 
greatly annoyed the whole neighborhood by tres- 
passing upon lawns, invading orchards, and in many 
other ways making themselves a general nuisance to 
the community. He at once surmised that the change 
for the better was due to a change in the principal- 
ship of the school. He found upon inquiry that this 
was true. A new principal had come to town and 
with his coming and under his leadership a different 
sentiment had been aroused in the school and a dif- 
ference in the behavior of the school children neces- 
sarily followed. 

In some of the old-time country schools — no 
doubt duplicates of them can still be found — no 
attention was paid to the behavior of pupils either 
going out of or coming into the school house. When 
the hour of dismissal came, or rather after it was 
passed, for too often the school was "let out" late, 
the teacher's laconic statement "dismissed" was fol- 
lowed by a scene which can be visualized or even 
imagined only by those who have been actors in the 
"comedy" or "tragedy" which took place. To the 
older boys and girls who were strong enough to escape 



176 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

unharmed in the midst of the rush for the door, the 
performance partook of the nature of comedy, for 
mirth certainly predominated and the termination 
of the plot was happy, to paraphrase the language 
of Noah Webster. To the younger children who had 
to crawl under the seats or seek other places of 
safety until the human cyclone passed by, tragedy 
much more accurately described the event which 
had every promise of being a "fatal and mournful 
one," to quote again the words of the great 
lexicographer. When school "took up" either in the 
morning or after recess or noon, the opposite con- 
ditions prevailed. The youngest and most helpless 
of the children were in no danger of harm from any 
undue haste of the older pupils to enter. They had 
abundance of time to take their seats without any 
chance of collision with their larger brothers and 
sisters who sauntered into the school house in a 
leisurely manner which indicated that a wonderful 
reaction had taken place in their nervous system 
since they had gone out with such tremendous 
energy and rapidity. 

At the noon hour very little time was used in 
eating the dinner which had been carefully and 
amply provided by the mothers of the children. 
Great "efficiency" was shown in the swiftness of 
movement exhibited by the pupils in opening their 
dinner buckets or baskets. The amount of time de- 
voted to eating inside the school room depended en- 
tirely upon the state of the weather. If rainy or 
stormy weather prevailed and prevented outdoor 
games, a few minutes might be devoted to swallow- 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 177 

ing a good portion of the large supply in store. 
If the weather at all permitted a game of 
ball or other outdoor sports, the only food con- 
sumed was such as could be transported to the 
playground in the hands of the children. The 
amount thus consumed depended upon the length 
of time which intervened between the minute of 
dismissal and the minute at which the consumer 
"went to bat" or entered upon the fulfillment of 
some other important athletic engagement which 
must be promptly met, whether any dinner was 
eaten or not. 

Into a school of this type with little or no senti- 
ment in favor of becoming behavior in relation to 
the habits of order and decency, which are so im- 
portant in life and living, there once came a teacher 
of real culture and rare refinement. In every sense 
of the word, he was by nature and training a true 
gentleman. At the first noon hour, the school was 
thrown into a state of consternation by his quiet 
but commanding announcement that fifteen minutes 
of the time would be taken to eat dinner, the pupils 
being directed to take their dinners to their seats 
and to sit down in an orderly manner, while eating. 
The pupils, especially the larger boys gazed at one 
another and at the teacher in open-eyed wonder, as 
they silently surrendered to this startling inno- 
vation which seemed to them to require a wicked 
waste of time. They could eat but little because of 
a difficulty in swallowing, due to the inaction of their 
salivary glands, produced by the surprise resulting 
from the unexpected situation into which they had 

18 



178 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

SO suddenly been thrown. The fifteen minutes 
seemed an age to them. In that brief space of time, 
however, they learned from the example of their 
teacher a lesson in good behavior, not found in 
books, but of vital importance in their future hap- 
piness and success. They saw this teacher take a 
napkin from his dinner basket and spread it neatly 
on his desk. On this napkin he placed the food 
which he wanted to eat and then proceeded to eat it 
with due regard to the usages of good society and 
the requirements of common decency. Fortunately, 
for the future comfort and welfare of the teacher, 
he showed that he was human by observing at the 
close of the meal that he would join the boys in a 
game of ball. 

More than one pupil who attended that school 
and thus came under the civilizing influence of the 
strong school sentiment for good behavior in its 
broadest and truest sense, developed under the 
leadership of that teacher, can look back upon the 
first noon hour of the school taught by him, and the 
lesson in proper behavior in eating which came with 
it, as an important experience in life. 

The playground affords an excellent opportu- 
nity for the cultivation of a strong school sentiment 
in favor of the best things in school life and in the 
behavior of boys and girls. To what extent the play 
of children should be supervised or directed is still 
an open question. Under normal conditions, normal 
children need little, if any, supervision or direction 
in their play. Usually they know what games 
they want to play and how and when they want to 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 179 

play them. Unfortunately, however, there are seme 
abnormal children who seem to be devoid of the play 
instinct and who need to be saved from themselves 
by being taught how to play and how to enjoy the 
company of other children. Instead of being per- 
mitted to stay in the school room buried in a book, 
or to stand around alone on the playground at re- 
cess, such children should be encouraged, even to 
the extent of kindly compulsion, to join in the games 
of the school. Children of this type furnish their 
teachers excellent opportunities for the exercise of 
the highest order of tact and of the most sympa- 
thetic patience. 

In these days of crowded districts in the cities 
and of sparsely settled districts in the country, ab- 
normal conditions exist of an exactly opposite type 
but both of which are unfavorable to play. In the 
crowded districts of the cities lack of sufficient room 
in which to play creates a condition which demands 
relief and which is being rapidly remedied in all 
progressive cities whose citizens have an apprecia- 
tion of the necessity of play in the physical, mental, 
and moral education of children. Ample play- 
grounds for all children of the city are fully as im- 
portant a part of the equipment of the school, as 
the buildings in which the schools are held. 

In the sparsely settled districts of the country, 
exactly opposite conditions prevail. Here the at- 
tendance at school is so small that it is impossible 
to arouse any enthusiasm in the games which appeal 
with so much force to children when there are a 
sufficient number to play them. In such schools, the 



180 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

difficulty is increased by the type of games now most 
popular with the public. It is rather difficult to 
organize a team for baseball, football, or basketball 
in a country school whose total enrollment ranges 
from six to ten, about equally divided between boys 
and girls. Even when the enrollment of a country 
school is normal and reaches twenty to thirty, it is 
not an easy task, under present conditions and with 
the modern ideals of games, to organize the play of 
the children so as to make it appeal to all classes and 
ages. In the play of the children as well as in their 
studies, the centralized school is proving its worth 
and necessity. 

To schools of all kinds there would come real 
benefit, could there be a renewal of the playing of 
some of the old games in which few or many can 
take part. The present tendency of both the ele- 
mentary and high schools of village and town to 
ape the colleges and universities in athletics is harm- 
ful both to the spirit of real play and also to the 
morals of the boys and girls. The impossibility of 
the country schools' following the example of the 
village and town schools in their attempt to conduct 
their games after the fashion of the college and 
university, will account in no small measure for the 
lack of play of any kind in many district schools. No 
more difficult or important task confronts the teacher 
of any school, especially the small one-room district 
school, than to foster the play spirit of the pupils 
under his direction. The best work in the school 
room is impossible without real, recreative, life- 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 181 

giving play outside of the school room at the recess 
and noon periods. 

While there may be an honest difference of 
opinion as to the advisability of supervising and 
directing the play of normal children under normal 
conditions, there can be no doubt as to the necessity 
of a sympathetic attitude of all teachers in relation 
to the games of the playground. There is something 
abnormally wrong with teachers who have no in- 
terest in the play of their pupils. All wide-awake 
teachers know that the playground offers an oppor- 
tunity to study the characteristics of their pupils, 
which the classroom cannot furnish. It is exceed- 
ingly unfortunate that there are still a few teachers 
who have not yet learned that the recess period is 
fully as important a factor in the education of 
children as the recitation hour. The sentiment of 
the school for good behavior is largely influenced 
by the standards of conduct which prevail on the 
playground. All teachers who prize good behavior 
and who realize the tremendous influence of school 
sentiment in securing it, always show a sympathetic 
interest in the games played by their pupils. 

Whether a teacher should join his pupils in 
playing games will depend in a large measure upon 
how well he can play them. Repeated failure by a 
teacher to bat a ball will often result in his losing 
the respect of pupils just as certainly as failure to 
make a point in a recitation. Success on the play- 
ground, on the other hand, often opens up an avenue 
of approach to the hearts of pupils, especially boys 



182 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

of a certain age, who can be won in no other way. 
Other things being equal, the athletic teacher has 
a decided advantage over the teacher who has never 
taken an active part in games or who has no per- 
sonal interest in play. 

In a school located in a college town, a new 
principal took charge. At the first recess, he looked 
out of his office on a game of base ball played be- 
tween the regular high school nine and a "scrub" 
team made up of the best remaining players in the 
school. In addition to the opportunity for play 
which the game furnished, there was a strong in- 
centive to all to do their best because of the chance 
which such play offered to the high school team for 
the practice needed in their preparation for games 
with the college students and other high schools. 
With such an incentive to stimulate them, they 
played well. The pitcher of the regular team was 
an expert even at that time. Later on he pitched 
the team of the college from which he graduated to 
victory in many a hard fought battle. The new 
principal thoroughly enjoyed the game of ball but 
was not an expert in playing it. While he felt that 
he would like to join the boys in the game, he was 
fearful of the outcome should he try it. The second 
day the captain of the team, a thoroughly manly 
fellow who was a leader in all the work and life of 
the school, called at the office of the principal and 
courteously inquired of him whether he ever played 
ball. A hesitating "sometimes" was the reply, which 
was followed by a pressing invitation by the cap- 
tain to join in their games, assuring the principal 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 183 

that all the boys wanted him to do so. To play or 
not to play was the dilemma which confronted the 
anxious principal. Whether 'twere better to decline 
the invitation with thanks, or simply to join 
the onlookers and **root" for the game, or to go to 
bat and, perchance, soon hear the unwelcome sen- 
tence, *'three strikes and out," was not easy to de- 
cide. The decision was to join actively in the game, 
and trust to the fates, together with the best ef- 
forts of which he was capable for a favorable out- 
come. Certainly the fates must have sjonpathized 
with the new principal that day as he took his place 
at the plate and, with grim determination to do or 
to die, faced the pitcher. All the players were un- 
usually alert and many a knowing and suggestive 
glance passed among them. The pitcher with due 
deliberation threw the ball. The principal struck at 
it and, mirahile dictu, hit it at precisely the right 
spot, in exactly the right way, knocked it outside of 
the school grounds, far out into an adjoining field, 
and made his first, last and only home run. The 
remarks which were made as he ran the bases and 
the applause which greeted his arrival at the home 
base, were of such a nature as to make him feel that 
the problem of the discipline of the school was al- 
ready at least partially solved. No doubt that suc- 
cessful "hit" in the baseball game opened the way 
for successful teaching in the class room and fur- 
nished an opportunity to get close enough to the 
boys to help in leading them to help the teachers in 
creating and maintaining a strong sentiment for 
good behavior both in and out of the school room. 



184 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Teachers who know that they cannot play or 
who feel that they cannot learn to play a game well 
enough to command the respect of their pupils, will 
do well to decline to play at all. Inability to play, 
however, is no reason or excuse for a lack of inter- 
est in play or for a failure to show an appreciation 
of pupils who play well. Teachers who have no such 
interest or who have no inclination or desire to ex- 
press such appreciation are sadly lacking in some 
of the essentials which always characterize leaders 
in influencing the sentiment of the school for good 
behavior. 

Just as in the development of a school senti- 
ment in favor of promptness so in the cultivation of 
a school sentiment in favor of good behavior, the 
personal example of the teacher is an exceedingly 
important factor. "As is the teacher so is the 
school", is literally true many times as shown in the 
conduct of pupils. While this fact brings to all con- 
scientious teachers a keen sense of their responsi- 
bility, it also makes plain to them their unusual 
opportunity to influence the habits of conduct of 
their pupils to a greater extent than is exercised 
by any other agency, with the possible exception of 
some of the better class of homes. Any teacher who 
sneers at such responsibility or who makes light of 
such opportunity thereby shows that he has no real 
appreciation of the real work of a real teacher. In 
practically all schools, the conduct of teachers in the 
school room must accord with the highest ideals of 
morality. All teachers who have conscience enough 
to feel their responsibility and heart enough to 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 185 

realize and to appreciate their opportunity in re- 
lation to the conduct of their pupils, constantly strive 
to furnish a good example by earnestly endeavoring 
to live up to these same ideals outside of school. 
The manner of life of teachers outside of the class 
room oftentimes has more influence upon the con- 
duct of pupils than all that they say and do in the 
classroom. If the conduct of teachers outside of 
school corresponds with their precept and example 
in school in favor of the best things in life, then 
their influence is greatly strengthened. But should 
their conduct outside of school not measure up to the 
standards set in school, then their influence for 
good is entirely nullified. It is highly important, 
therefore, that all teachers who are really desirous 
of creating and maintaining a strong school senti- 
ment in favor of good behavior, should fully appre- 
ciate the important part which their own behavior 
plays in realizing their desires. In all respects, 
teachers should strive to furnish an example worthy 
of imitation, which will be a safe guide to right con- 
duct. This is true not only with special reference to 
morals but also in relation to matters of dress, clean- 
liness, neatness, and order, all of which are at least 
closely related to morals, and exercise a decided in- 
fluence upon the conduct and character of pupils. 
The order or disorder of a teacher's desk will deter- 
mine in a large measure the order or disorder of 
the desks of the pupils and will have a decided in- 
fluence upon the behavior of the school. Well shined 
shoes worn by the teacher will have more to do in 
influencing the majority of children to clean their 



186 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

shoes before coming into the school house than daily 
lectures upon the subject, and will also effect their 
general behavior in no small degree. 

Some years since a man of more than ordinary 
natural ability and of good education failed of re- 
election as superintendent of schools in the town 
which he had served for several years. To an out- 
sider, the action of the school board in thus failing 
to re-elect him seemed an inexcusable injustice. 
"When asked for a reason for the action of the board, 
one of its members, a gentleman of excellent char- 
acter and high standing in the community, who had 
always been friendly to the superintendent, replied 
substantially as follows : 

"He always persisted in wearing a low-cut vest 
and a white necktie, but did not change his linen 
often enough to meet the demands of cleanliness. 
As a result he lost the respect of many pupils, par- 
ents, and teachers, and thereby lost his influence for 
good in the schools." 

While this example may illustrate an excep- 
tional case, there can be no doubt that many similar 
instances, differing, if at all, only in degree, can be 
found. Teachers who are not cleanly, neat, and 
orderly do lose the respect of their pupils and 
thereby do lose their influence for good in the 
schools which they teach. 




CHAPTER XIII 

SCHOOL SENTIMENT 
(Continued) 

ITH a school sentiment which secures regu- 
lar and prompt attendance and which in- 
sures good behavior of the pupils, a safe 
and secure foundation upon which to establish a 
successful school is assured. In the establishment 
of such a school there are certain factors of such 
primary importance as to warrant their careful con- 
sideration. One of these factors is a strong and 
abiding sentiment in favor of hard work as the only 
guarantee of success in securing anything worth 
securing, in education as well as in any other worthy 
cause. 

In considering the causes of retardation of 
pupils in the public schools, it is well to remember 
that, while some pupils fail to measure up to the 
standards of the school because of inability to do 
the prescribed work, perhaps a much larger number 
fail because they are unwilling to work. Some pupils 
are undoubtedly "born short" and are, therefore, de- 
serving of all the special consideration which it is 
possible for the teachers of the public schools to 
give or for special schools to provide. Too much 
cannot be said in favor of doing all that sympathy, 
intelligently directed, can suggest or liberal appro- 
priations of money, wisely used, can furnish, for the 

(187) 



18B OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

better education and training of defective children. 
A much larger number of pupils, however, are 
either bom lazy or have been so pampered by in- 
dulgent parents that they have never learned that 
work on their own part is a necessity. Such pupils 
should be given to understand that they have no 
claims upon teachers for special consideration. The 
freaks or fancies of children regarding what they 
may want to do or not want to do, determined by 
whether they imagine the work easy or difficult, 
should never receive any serious consideration by 
either parents or teachers. Normal children, who 
are properly trained at home and rightly taught in 
school, find just as real pleasure in the work which 
every worthy school demands and secures as in the 
play which every deserving school provides and 
encourages. 

While it is no doubt true that all work and no 
play makes Jack a dull boy, it is equally true that 
all play and no work invariably fails to make 
any child or adult either happy, contented, or 
successful. The perfect joy which results from real 
play and restful recreation is possible only to those 
who have experienced the genuine pleasure due to 
purposeful work, conscientiously performed. The 
child who has been so surfeited with play that he 
does not find any joy in it, who has done nothing 
so long that he is unwilling to do anything, who 
thinks that it is the chief business of the world to 
entertain or to amuse him, and who will not 
attempt to do anything unless first assured that 
the doing will cost no effort on his part, is an object 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 189 

of pity. Such a child presents a serious problem to 
his teachers. Unless his viewpoint of life can be 
changed and he can be made to realize the necessity 
of work in obtaining an education, he will remain 
uneducated, no difference how much money may be 
spent upon him by fond parents whose foolish indul- 
gence has made it impossible for the best schools 
and teachers to be of any service to him. 

Unfortunately some teachers have become in- 
oculated with the pedagogical heresy that children 
should never be conscious of effort in learning or 
doing anything. They have, therefore, attempted to 
turn the school room into a play house and the entire 
teaching and learning process into a game of some 
kind. While it is undoubtedly true that the spirit 
of play, which is characterized by freedom and joy, 
should always dominate the work of the school, it is 
also true that children should learn early in their 
school experience that work is not play. In fact, 
unless children are misled by foolish teachers and 
parents, they soon understand the difference between 
play and work and fully realize that the two cannot 
be interchanged without loss to both. 

In a school which posed as the representative of 
the so-called new education, but which in reality 
misrepresented all true education, the primary arith- 
metic class was called. The teacher in charge was 
an exponent of the spontaneity craze which some- 
times breaks out in the ranks of teachers. Her 
pupils ranging in age from seven to eight years 
showed by their actions that they had taken full 
advantage of the "new freedom" which had come to 



190 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

them. They both acted and reacted in a truly mar- 
velous manner. Motion seemed to be the law of 
their being and the law was in constant action. 
¥/hen they came to the class all the gaits known to 
the race track were exhibited. Some ran, others 
paced, a few cantered, still others loped. No one 
walked in an orderly manner. Such a method of 
travel as orderly walking would have been an indica- 
tion of conservatism which the teacher could not, 
under any circumstances, permit, since it would in- 
terfere with the free and full development of all the 
natural powers of the children. 

After the majority of the class had arrived some 
place near the vicinity where the recitation in arith- 
metic was to take place, one of the boys, an un- 
usually active, flesh-and-blood specimen, was selected 
to act as a fairy and was given a wand — a long 
stick, the use of which the disorder of the school 
might have warranted for another purpose — with 
which to perform various acts of a more or less 
miraculous nature. The teacher then announced 
that the drama of arithmetic was about to be staged 
and that the first act would be of the blind variety. 
The fairy at once proceeded to pass the wand over 
the heads of his classmates with the purpose of 
closing their eyes to all their surroundings. For 
some reason, perhaps because the presence of vis- 
itors was unfavorable to the perfect action of the 
wand, nearly all the children kept at least one eye 
partly open. Even with this partial blindness, the 
game of blind arithmetic proceeded. The teacher 
struck a call-bell three times, paused a moment, and 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 191 

then again struck the bell three times. After suf- 
ficient time had elapsed for a complete realization 
of the full effect of this wonderful performance 
upon the minds of the sightless children, the fairy 
in charge of the show led one of his blind classmates 
to the bell. This blind boy at once struck the bell 
six times with all his might and the immortal truth 
that three and three are six rang out upon the school 
room air with such a volume of sound as to ex- 
tinguish temporarily all other noises, and to an- 
nounce to the entire school the culmination of the 
first act of the drama. 

In the intermission between acts, the teacher 
kindly explained the "psychology" of the game by 
informing her visitors that it proved what was at 
that time generally accepted as true by all leading 
psychologists, viz.: that impressions could reach the 
brain by the auditory nerve alone. 

Following the brief intermission, the curtain 
arose on the second and final act of the drama. The 
fairy proceeded to restore sight to the blind by 
passing his wand over the heads of the class in a 
direction opposite to that in which it was passed 
when they were deprived of their sight. Pausing a 
moment so that their eyes might once more become 
accustomed to the light, the miracle-performing rod 
was again passed over their heads. In an instant 
their ears were stopped with their own fingers, their 
tongues were palsied by their own efforts, and they 
became deaf to all sound and incapable of speaking 
to any one. Notwithstanding strong circumstantial 
evidence tending to prove that neither perfect deaf- 



192 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

ness nor entire speechlessness resulted from the ef- 
forts of the fairy, the game of deaf and dumb arith- 
metic proceeded. The teacher held up three pieces 
of crayon in her right hand and the same number in 
her left hand. The pupils with their recently re- 
stored vision gazed upon the scene for a short time. 
Then one of the deaf and dumb members of the 
class with great spontaneity of movement rushed to 
the crayon box, took out six pieces of crayon and 
holding them aloft again proved that three and three 
are six. The teacher again explained to her visitors 
the "psychology" of the game by calling attention to 
another theory which she informed them had also 
been generally accepted by all leading psychologists, 
viz.: that impressions could reach the brain by the 
optic nerve alone. 

The class, having been restored again to their 
normal condition through the agency of the fairy's 
wand, rushed to their different seats, each in his own 
spontaneous manner, and each, no doubt, in his 
heart as completely disgusted with the entire silly 
performance as were the visitors, whose experience 
with children both in work and at play caused them 
to feel that such a farce as they had just witnessed 
was an insult to the intelligence of childhood and a 
worse than useless waste of valuable time. 

Normal children are never interested in easy 
tasks. They are not even entertained by attempts 
to deceive them into thinking that they can learn 
anything worth knowing incidentally or accidentally 
and entirely without effort on their own part. Their 
intuition teaches them that work is a necessity in 
doing anything really worth doing. 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 193 

The real spirit of childhood is usually best 
shown on the playground. The games which appeal 
with most force and which bring the greatest joy to 
children are never easy ones. Watch the boys 
on the playground of a country school. The jump- 
ing "epoch" in the year's calendar of sports has 
arrived. Apparently without any hint or sugges- 
tion from any one, all the boys in the neighbor- 
hood have been suddenly seized with an insatia- 
ble desire to jump in any and every direction, up 
and down, in and out, backward and forward. 
Standing jumps, running jumps, high jumps, and 
hop-step-and- jumps are a few of the many varieties 
indulged in. On this particular day the high jump 
is the special order. The simplest and, for that 
reason, perhaps the best apparatus has been pro- 
vided for use for this particular event. This ap- 
paratus consists of two sharpened sticks with forks 
on them at different distances from their sharpened 
ends and a third stick to be used as a hurdle over 
which the young athletes are to jump. The sharp- 
ened sticks are pushed into the ground and in their 
lowest notches the third stick is laid. All the boys 
of all ages and sizes jump over it with little or no 
difficulty. No one cares to repeat the exercise for 
the simple reason given by one boy who impatiently 
observes that anybody can jump that high. He en- 
thusiastically asks that the hurdle be put up higher. 
His request is granted. Only a few of the older or 
the more athletic boys are able to perform the more 
difficult task. The others stand by and cheer their 

13 



194 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

more successful playmates, and at the same time 
not only long for the day when they can perform 
the same feat, but with fixed determination resolve 
to hasten its arrival by constant practice. The hur- 
dle is then placed in the highest notches. Only one 
boy in the entire school is able to jump over it. 
This he proceeds to do with great joy to himself and 
to the intense delight of all the other boys who ad- 
mire what he has done because it was hard to do. 
In a well taught school, not only do the freedom 
and joy which are characteristic of the spirit of 
play, dominate the work of the pupils in the prepara- 
tion and recital of their daily lessons, but there are 
also manifest the same determined earnestness to 
excel in the work of the school, as is shown in the 
games of the playground, and the same willingness 
to win success by putting forth the necessary effort 
to insure it. Just as there are always a few pupils 
who, because of inability, indifference, or laziness, 
do not care to play well, if at all, so there is always 
a small minority in every school who, for similar 
reasons, cannot be aroused even by the best teach- 
ers, aided by the strongest school sentiment, to do 
much, if any serious work. The great majority of 
pupils, however, when properly taught and wisely 
directed, do respond to the sentiment of a school 
which has high ideals of industry and which de- 
mands that all credits shall be honestly earned, all 
honors meritoriously won, and all worthy standing 
of pupils be maintained by their doing each day the 
best work of which they are capable. A successful 
school is always a hard working school. To main- 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 195 

tain such standards of work as will insure success 
in any school, a strong sentiment in favor of hard 
work is a fundamental necessity. 

In the cultivation of a school sentiment in 
favor of hard work, the personal example of the 
teacher plays as important a part as in the culti- 
vation of a sentiment in favor of promptness and 
good behavior. Devotion to study on the part of 
teachers is contagious and spreads rapidly through 
an entire school. 

No one who has listened to the story of the 
early struggles of the teachers in Oneida Institute, 
located in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, so 
graphically told by its remarkable founder, James 
H. Burns, known as "Bums of the Mountains," can 
doubt the effectiveness of the instruction of teachers 
who, although deficient in academic training for 
their work, are on fire with a zeal to learn as well 
as to teach. When the young mountaineers in the 
school casually learned from a college catalogue, 
which in some way came to their notice, the require- 
ments for college entrance and then presented these 
requirements to their inadequately prepared teach- 
ers for consideration, consternation followed. To 
these teachers it seemed utterly impossible to teach 
the required subjects. It was in this crisis that 
the great leader, the head of the school, whose 
academic preparation consisted of ten months of 
schooling in one of the mountain schools and seven 
months in Denison University, Granville, Ohio, 
"called a 'faculty meeting,' " to quote his own 
humorous phrase, to determine what could be done 



196 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

for these young students who were burning with 
an intense desire to get an education. The different 
members of the "faculty" were asked whether they 
thought they could learn as rapidly as the students 
whom they had to teach. All agreed that they 
thought they could. The thought that they could, 
soon grew into a determination that they would. 
Led by this determination, the devoted teachers of 
this school met each evening at six o'clock. From 
that hour until midnight, with an earnestness which 
could not acknowledge defeat, they prepared the 
lessons they were to teach to the boys and girls who 
were equally determined to learn. 

Of course, the formal demands of the colleges 
that students could not enter the freshman class, 
unless they had been prepared by college trained 
teachers, recognized no exceptions to the rule. All 
the students trained in Oneida Institute had to 
undergo a rigid examination when they presented 
themselves as prospective college students. At first 
they were examined in the common branches taught 
in the elementary grades. So surprisingly satis- 
factory were the results of this examination, that 
tests were applied to their knowledge of high school 
branches with the result that practically all of them 
were admitted to the* freshman class. One of their 
number was given advanced standing in the soph- 
omore class of a college in good and regular 
standing, a member of the examining committee 
humorously observing that had they kept on with 
the examination, he verily believed that some of the 
students would have graduated from college 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 197 

without entering it. The record made by these 
students while in college and their success since 
graduating from college prove beyond a doubt the 
efficiency of the training they received in the Oneida 
Institute at the hands of teachers whose lack of 
preparation was more than made up by a desperate 
determination to meet a need which could be met 
by no one else. 

The reference to the marked success achieved 
by Oneida Institute, which has no doubt been 
duplicated in a measure at least by other similar 
schools, is not made with the thought that such 
unusual success even suggests that teachers can 
usually hope to succeed to any great degree without 
thorough preparation for their work. The founder 
of this school and his assistants, who have accom- 
plished so much with so little capital of prepara- 
tory training and equipment, deeply regret this 
lack of education and training for their work. But 
their success under such unusual difficulties and in 
spite of such marked limitations, does demonstrate 
the possibilities of work by determined teachers 
and the effect of such work on the pupils whom 
they teach. Could the same devotion to duty 
and the same determination to grow in knowledge 
as characterized the founder and teachers of this 
school of mountaineers in Eastern Kentucky, take 
possession of all the teachers who have had the 
advantage of thorough preparation for their work, 
who could measure the effects upon the sentiment 
of the schools taught by them as well as upon the 
individual pupils who attend the schools ? It is safe 



198 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

to say that in many schools and colleges there would 
come to the pupils and students a new interest in 
education and an enlarged vision of life and its 
work. 

Work, both purposeful and persistent, is a 
fundamental necessity in winning either success or 
happiness. When the lamented Booker T. Wash- 
ington was requested by the Sunday School Times 
in 1907 to name the things for which he was most 
thankful, the chief source of the gratitude of his 
heart was summed up as follows : 

"First for the opportunity to work. Work is the 
greatest blessing that a Good Providence has conferred 
upon the human race. Any one who has learned to love 
work for its own sake cannot fail to be supremely happy. 
The man who has something to do is to be envied. The 
man who has nothing to do is to be pitied." 

Fortunate indeed are the pupils who come 
under the influence of teachers whose example im- 
presses the lesson of gratitude for an opportunity 
to work and inspires a love of work for its own sake. 




CHAPTER XIV 
SCHOOL SENTIMENT 

(Concluded) 

NOTHER prime essential in a good school is 
a strong sentiment in favor of truthfulness 
and honesty in all the work of the school. 
So intimately related are truthfulness and honesty 
that they can be considered as really one element 
of character. Certainly one cannot exist without 
the other and no school can be a good school which 
does not daily emphasize the importance and neces- 
sity of both in the education of boys and girls. In 
all the work of the class room, in all the games of 
the playground, and in all the relations of teachers 
with pupils and of pupils with each other, there 
should be a definite understanding that truthful- 
ness and honesty must be the rule which admits of 
no exceptions. Trained in such an atmosphere and 
guided by such a sentiment boys and girls will grow 
up to love truth for truth's sake, and to hate decep- 
tion in all forms because of its harmful effect upon 
life and character. 

That there is need of such training and guid- 
ance and that it is also difficult to give it, will be 
readily recognized by all who know conditions as 
they exist today. In too many instances, the critics 
of the character products of the public schools lose 
sight of the fact that the training in character 

(199) 



200 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

which they so insistently demand of the schools is 
exceedingly difficult if not impossible of realization, 
because of the lack of support in too many homes 
and because of the presence of low standards of 
common truthfulness and honesty in relation to the 
affairs of everyday life. 

The father who is guilty of engaging in busi- 
ness transactions which are not strictly fair and 
honorable and who thus furnishes to his own son 
an example of dishonesty and deceit, adds greatly 
to the burden of the teacher, who is striving to 
create a school sentiment in favor of truthfulness 
and honesty. The mother who is such a slave to 
the conventional forms of society that she does not 
hesitate to practice deceit or to sacrifice permanent 
principles of right for temporary popularity, and 
who thus leads her daughter to conclude that 
genuine character is, after all, of little value, does 
her part to make a school sentiment in favor of 
truthfulness and honesty difficult of attainment. It 
is not always easy to teach the importance of truth- 
fulness to a child whose parents do not hesitate to 
attempt to deceive the conductor of a passenger 
train as to the age of the child, to save a few cents 
in railroad fare. When parents teach and practice 
the theory that the end justifies the means, and that 
it is right and commendable to cheat a business 
corporation because its methods of dealing with the 
public are presumed to be dishonest or unfair, it 
should not be surprising if the school fails some- 
times to turn out a thoroughly honest and reliable 
product. In too many instances much of the best 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 201 

effort of teachers must be directed to the elimina- 
tion of false standards of truthfulness and honesty- 
taught in the home and practiced in society. While 
the results produced by such effort are important, 
they are necessarily of a negative nature and, there- 
fore, not easily measured or recorded. There is no 
possibility of knovdng with any degree of accuracy 
how much of untruthfulness and dishonesty has 
been eliminated from the lives of adults by a train- 
ing in truthfulness and honesty in the lives of school 
children, made possible and effective by a strong 
school sentiment in favor of these virtues. Could 
there be a fuller realization of what the public 
schools accomplish in a negative way in character 
training, there would be a higher appreciation of 
their work and far less criticism of what they fail 
to do. 

Teachers who are successful in cultivating 
a strong school sentiment for truthfulness and 
honesty, are always careful to distinguish closely 
between innocent acts of mischief, in which all nor- 
mal children love to have a part, and guilty deeds 
of meanness which are rare under normal condi- 
tions. The debates which are so often held in 
teachers' meetings, or conducted through the 
columns of educational journals on whether chil- 
dren should tell on one another or not, usually en- 
tirely ignore this important distinction. Wise 
teachers never inquire too closely into the origin of 
many school pranks which, in no great degree, if 
at all, involve any question of right or wrong con- 
duct. Teachers who are always "holding court" 



202 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

and conducting investigations with the purpose of 
trying to ferret out all the mysteries in which chil- 
dren in common with adults love to enshroud their 
innocent fun, will have little time to do anything 
else. In many instances, the foolish determination 
of tactless teachers to find out all about all the 
details of everything which happens in the life of 
the school, results in far more harm to the school 
than that produced by the alleged misdeeds of the 
pupils under investigation. To demand that chil- 
dren shall go on the witness stand to testify 
against their classmates in matters of little moment 
or consequence, is to encourage tattling which 
should always be discouraged and which should 
usually be condemned. To encourage, or, under 
ordinary circumstances, even to permit such 
a practice in school, is to train for gossip in 
later life. Even when the necessity arises of in- 
vestigating the acts of pupils, teachers should strive 
to avoid, in so far as possible, placing them in a 
dilemma where they must decide between telling 
the whole truth and nothing but the truth about 
something of really little vital importance morally, 
and thereby implicating their schoolmates, or with- 
holding the truth, or, perhaps, even telling a false- 
hood to shield those who have had a part in the 
matter under investigation. 

While false ideals of loyalty may at times exist 
in the minds of pupils, it must never be forgotten 
that the principle of loyalty to one's friends is 
fundamental in true character. To develop this 
principle of loyalty to friends, along with loyalty to 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 203 

truth in the practice of the principle, is often a 
difficult task which calls forth the best efforts of 
the most tactful teachers. If pupils are not asked 
to tell what they know about the origin of innocent 
acts of mischief, which in no way involve the good 
name of the school nor violate any moral principle, 
they can usually be relied upon to tell the truth in 
giving all the information they possess concerning 
any act of wrongdoing which is an injury to the 
school or which is harmful to any of its members. 
On the playground of a country school at the 
opening of the noon hour, an interesting as well as 
an interested group of boys gathered about the 
leader of the school. This leader was the oldest 
member of the group. He had won his way to 
leadership by the exercise of the same qualities of 
character as win success in any business, calling, or 
profession in life. He was bright-minded, true- 
hearted, loyal-souled, full of fun, and ready at any 
time to help his schoolmates. More than once he 
had helped to fight the battles of some of the smaller 
boys when they had been subjected to the imposi- 
tions which are not uncommon in the lives of such 
boys. He could always be relied upon in the hour 
of need. He had never been known to forsake his 
friends. To be recognized by him as worthy 
of membership in his band was an honor coveted 
by all the smaller boys who were eager to endure 
almost any degree of punishment or pain which 
might be required in the entrance examination to 
the privilege of playing with the larger boys who 



204 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

had the confidence of the leader. To be invited by 
him to join his party on an exploring expedition 
in the fields or on a march of conquest through the 
woods adjoining the school grounds, brought a thrill 
of pride and joy to all who were fortunate enough 
to be so highly honored. 

On one of their marches, the boys had the good 
fortune to capture a small owl. Instantly there 
flashed upon the alert mind of the leader the possi- 
bilities of some innocent fun. Not being selfish, he 
was anxious to share his vision with the other boys. 
Calling them about him, he outlined his rapidly 
formed plan to hide the owl under his coat,, to take 
it into the school room, and at the "psychological 
moment," to turn it loose. Of course, this bit of 
proposed mischief, perfectly innocent and legiti- 
mate, forcefully appealed to the boys, all of 
whom cheerfully and willingly took the pledge of 
secrecy and solemnly promised not to tell how the 
owl got into the school house, should the teacher 
be foolish enough to ask any questions. With joy- 
ful anticipation of what they all hoped the near 
future had in store for them, the boys hurriedly 
returned to the school grounds and anxiously 
awaited the call to books with an intense longing 
which was very unusual for them. When the call 
finally came, all who were in the secret entered the 
school house with such remarkable promptness 
and in such exceptional order as would have aroused 
the suspicions of a really tactful teacher and would 
have caused him to be on the alert for other 
signals of warning. One of these signals of warn- 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 205 

ing was the undue haste with which all the 
boys, who knew the plan, began to study their 
lessons. Each one seemed suddenly to be possessed 
with such an insatiable desire to prepare his lessons 
as would admit of no delay and as demanded instant 
satisfaction. With eyes turned toward their books 
but with many expectant side glances about the 
room and with ears open to catch the slightest 
sound, the little band of heroic toilers studied on, 
each moment fondly hoping for developments full 
of intense interest to them. After a few minutes 
of "watchful waiting" their highest hopes were 
realized. The owl, freed from its temporary prison 
under the coat of the leader, who all the time seemed 
deeply absorbed in the study of his lesson, fluttered 
for a few minutes blindly about the room and then 
quietly settled on the casement of a window near 
the seat of one of the smaller boys — only that and 
nothing more. 

And there would have been nothing more, had 
the teacher kept quiet. A perfectly harmless and 
an absolutely quiet owl would have remained in 
perfect silence where it sat, and a group of fun- 
loving boys would have been completely subdued, 
had the teacher shown a modicum of the wisdom 
which owls are reputed to possess. But the teacher, 
determined to find out how the owl got into the 
school room, at once started on an investigation 
which he vainly imagined would put him in posses- 
sion of that really useless information. With a high 
degree of solemnity which might well characterize 
a judge presiding at a trial in which a human life 



206 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

is at stake, the teacher pointed out the grievous 
wrong which had been committed in disturbing the 
peace of the school by bringing an owl into the 
school room. He stated his purpose to discover 
who had committed this great wrong. He then 
proceeded with the investigation by calling on one 
of the smallest boys in the guilty group to tell 
whether he knew how the owl got into the room. 
This boy was thereby at once placed in a most em- 
barrassing position in which a serious dilemma con- 
fronted him. On the one hand he felt it his duty 
to remain loyal to the leader of the school, whom 
he loved, and to whom he had given his solemn 
promise not to divulge the name of the perpetrator 
of the innocent mischief; on the other hand was 
the demand of the teacher that he break his promise 
to his schoolmate and thus prove disloyal, as it 
seemed to him, to his best friend. In the struggle 
which came to him in making the decision as to 
what response he should give to the teacher's de- 
mand, the boy was influenced by an innate sense of 
the unfairness of the teacher who had placed him 
in such a trying position. He replied that he did 
not know. The teacher then turned to another boy 
and asked him the same question. It will be evident 
to every one that this second boy had an additional 
reason for not telling the teacher what he had been 
asked to tell. Not only was he influenced by his 
idea of loyalty to his leader and by the remembrance 
of his promise not to tell, but also by the feeling 
that to expose the first boy, who had already said 
he did not know, would be an act of unpardonable 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 207 

meanness on his part. The second boy also replied 
that he did not know. On through the ranks the 
teacher's question passed, each boy being asked to 
tell and each boy replying that he did not know. 
Finally the teacher reached the leader and called 
upon him to testify. But his mind was so deeply 
centered upon the study of his lesson and his atten- 
tion so absorbed in this deep study that he did not 
hear the call. The teacher again called him by name 
and received in reply a surprised ''What sir!" The 
teacher then repeated the question — **Do you know 
how that owl got into the school room?" Imagine, 
if possible, the consternation of that group of boys 
who, with some slight pangs of conscience, had re- 
mained true to the promise made to their leader 
not to tell, when they heard him reply to the ques- 
tion which they had declined to answer, in a clear 
and emphatic "Yes sir." 

It seemed to them that all was lost. Visions 
of the infliction of punishment to which teachers of 
the type of the one who was in charge of this school 
so often resort, came rapidly to their minds. Relief 
soon followed and in a manner fully as unexpected 
as the shock of the surprise due to the answer of 
their leader that he knew how the owl got into the 
1:00m. With a high degree of evident satisfaction 
that he had at last found the boy who would tell 
him all about the mystery of the owl's presence, the 
teacher requested the leader to explain that mystery. 
The reply was prompt and definite and most satis- 
factory — ^to the boys. It was simply this — "I am 
not sure but I think it came down the flue." 



208 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

It is possible that the boys may have done 
wrong in refusing to answer truthfully the question 
of the teacher. But there can be no doubt that the 
chief sinner was the teacher, himself. If the record- 
ing angel on that day entered anything upon his 
books against any one, it is safe to presume that 
the charge of wrongdoing was not against the boys 
who, at least, had what seemed to them a justifiable 
reason for their action, but against the tactless 
teacher who had not the slightest excuse for asking 
the foolish question which was the cause of all the 
trouble. 

In contrast with the policy of this tactless 
teacher, who wa^> at least indirectly responsible for 
any deception practiced by his pupils, attention Is 
called to another experience of a principal of schools 
in dealing with another group of fun-loving boys. 
This principal always spent the play period out 
among the children on the playground. He was 
there not as a policeman in search of some offender 
whom he could prosecute and punish, but as a friend 
who loved the children and heartily sympathized 
with them in all their games and in their fun. 

On one occasion his attention was called to a 
group of boys who had retired to a little ravine in 
a distant corner of the schoolground and who, with 
heads close together, were deeply intent upon some 
scheme which demanded and received their undi- 
vided attention. As the principal came near the 
group, he could not help hearing an earnest con- 
versation which revealed not only the source of their 
interest but also their future plans. One of the 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 209 

boys was the happy owner of the works of an old 
clock minus the spring which controlled its move- 
ments. When the clock was wound up, the energy 
which, when under control, was slowly used through 
a period of several hours, in the absence of the con- 
trolling spring, was exhausted in a few seconds. 
The resulting noise was such as to bring joy to the 
hearts of any mischief -making and fun-loving group 
of boys. One of the boys who was enjoying the 
thrill of this novel experience, soon realized the pos- 
sibilities for fun which the apparatus contained and 
proposed to another boy, "Jim" by name, who sat 
in a part of the school room distant from the 
teacher's desk and, therefore, well located for action, 
that he take the old clock with him into the school 
room and when the teacher's back was turned to 
the school, wind it up, put it in his desk, and **let 
*er go." This valuable suggestion met with the in- 
stant and hearty approval of all the boys, who also 
united in a promise not to tell should, any inquiries 
follow. 

A tactless principal would have felt it necessary 
to break up^ such a band of conspirators at once by 
sending them all into the school room and depriving 
them of their play until such time as they 
might come into a full realization of the enormity 
of the crime of planning mischief and standing 
together in maintaining secrecy regarding the execu- 
tion of their plans. The boys would, have been im- 
pressively informed that they could never hope 
to make such plans without being discovered. For- 
tunately for the boys and also their principal he 

14 



210 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

was not tactless. He had not forgotten how thor- 
oughly he enjoyed fun when he was their age. 
Because he still remembered his own boyhood days, 
he was able to appreciate the motives which inspired 
the plan to have some fun. He quietly turned away 
from the scene with joy in his heart that he had 
boys in school whose brains were active enough to 
think of something original and with delightful 
anticipations in his soul of the pleasure which would 
be his in the near future. 

When the school bell rang, all the children from 
all parts of the large playground instantly re- 
sponded to its call. They formed in straight and 
quiet ranks at their proper places, marched to their 
school rooms and seats in an orderly manner, and 
entered at once upon the preparation of their 
lessons. A good judge of boy nature, even without 
any knowledge of their plans, would have readily 
noted in the pious looks, and faultless behavior of 
the youthful conspirators, as they entered the build- 
ing and took their seats, a suggestion to keep an 
eye out in their quarter. To the principal who knew 
the plans and what was certain to occur at the 
earliest opportunity, the whole situation was in- 
tensely amusing. He was fully as anxious to play 
his part as the boys were to play theirs. He pur- 
posely turned his back to the school and commenced 
to write a number of arithmetical problems on the 
blackboard. At once the boys who were in the 
secret signalled to "Jim'' that the time had come 
"to let 'er go." The old clock was wound up, and 
carefully placed in his desk which niade an excel- 



SCHOOL SENTIMENT 211 

lent sounding board. When it "went off," all the 
pupils in the room except the "conspirators" mani- 
fested their intense surprise. Had the principal 
been ignorant of the source of the noise, a hasty- 
glance over the school room would have revealed 
the location of the disturbance and the boys who 
were responsible for it. The only undisturbed boys 
in the room were, of course, those who knew all 
about the scheme. They did not even glance up 
from their books. Intense interest in their lessons 
riveted their attention to their studies. 

The principal, however, did not need to turn 
his face to the school. He simply wrote right on 
and in the most pleasant tone of voice, said : "Jim, 
please bring the old clock in your desk and place it 
on my desk." Slowly, "Jim" responded to the call 
to come to the front. As he reached the principal's 
desk with his rare treasure from which so much 
had been expected, he was met by the principal with 
a cordial smile and a hearty "thank you." Not a 
word was said to the boys to throw any light upon 
the great mystery of how the principal knew where 
the clock was located ; no criticism of any kind came 
from him. He apparently dismissed the whole mat- 
ter from his mind. Had he been the tactless, talk- 
ing, investigating type, he would have called the 
attention of the entire school to what he had dis- 
covered at the play period and would have en- 
deavored to impress upon all the pupils how impos- 
sible it was for them to hope to escape detection, 
should they attempt to play any pranks of any kind. 
Such an explanation woujd have been most pleasing 



212 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

to "Jim" and his associates, who left the school 
room that day sadder but not wiser. In their con- 
fidential conference which soon followed, they 
agreed that it was not worth while to attempt to 
plan mischief in that school. In their ranks, "re- 
member the old clock" became a slogan, the mere 
mention of which was sufficient to control, in a 
large measure, their actions when mischief came up 
for consideration. The tactful principal had won 
an important victory by keeping his eyes open and 
his mouth closed. 

To create and to maintain in the school suchi a 
sentiment for truthfulness and honesty as will lead 
boys and girls, in practicing these virtues, to live 
up to higher ideals than are found in many homes, 
is indeed a difficult problem. To solve such a 
problem successfully means incalculable benefits in 
character growth to boys and girls. It demands the 
highest type of truthfulness and honesty coupled 
with the most consummate tact and skill on the part 
of teachers. 



CHAPTER XV 

CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PUPILS 

AT a recent meeting of the representatives of 
the big business interests of the United 
States, one of the leading captains of indus- 
try is reported to have said that the badge of sanity 
in the business world of today is ability to co- 
operate. 

On a sign hanging in front of a small restau- 
rant, located near the passenger station of a western 
city, is the following striking announcement : 

*Try our 25-cent meals. If you don't we'll both 
starve." 

Both the statement credited to the big business 
man and the advertisement of the small restaurant- 
keeper recognize the importance and necessity of 
co-operation in the successful management of busi- 
ness affairs. 

Even in the material and in the economic 
world, the lesson that no man liveth unto himself 
is being slowly but surely learned. Selfishness never 
pays, while the spirit of helpfulness to others, which 
is the essence of true co-operation, always brings 
in large returns on the investment made. 

In no department of the world's work is there 
greater need of co-operation than in the department 
of public education. Here the child, the parent, the 
teacher, the home, the community, the school board, 

(213) 



214 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

and all the other representative interests and 
agencies of the state are involved. If the work of 
the public school be performed in a spirit of true 
co-operation, the results must be beneficial to all. If 
this spirit of co-operation is lacking, the school, the 
home, and the state all suffer as a result. 

To some teachers, the thought of co-operation 
suggests little more than the importance of a readi- 
ness and willingness on the part of parents to help 
them in their work in the daily tasks of the school 
room. While such help is both desirable and neces- 
sary, it cannot be secured simply for the asking. 
It results only from superior work done by the 
teacher with the children in the school room. The 
one sure way to secure co-operation from the forces 
outside of the school is to give such service in the 
school as will enlist the attention, interest, and com- 
mendation of fathers and mothers in the home, and 
of citizens in the community. A well taught school 
always finds a good advertising medium in its 
pupils. 

A young teacher was worrying over some of 
the difficulties, partly real and partly imaginary, 
which confronted him in his work in a country 
school. At the close of the week he walked several 
miles to his home to consult his teacher, to whom he 
was indebted for all that he possessed of education 
and training as well as for the inspiration which 
had led him to attempt to teach. To this 
sympathetic friend he poured out his heart in the 
relation of his troubles and then asked him for 
advice as to what to do under the circumstances 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PUPILS 215 

which seemed so discouraging. The advice which 
was given has been a source of real help and 
encouragement in all the years which have followed. 
It is recorded here in the hope that it may help 
others : 

"My boy, go back to your school determined to give to 
the children who attend it all of the best that you have. 
Hold back nothing in your power to give, and always re- 
member this: if you will take care of your school, your 
school will take care of you." 

That schools do take care of teachers who take 
care of their schools has found verification in the 
experience of thousands of teachers who have been 
successful in spite of difficulties which have seemed 
insurmountable. By giving to the children all of 
the best that they had, the opposition of outside 
fault-finders has been overcome, indifference has 
been turned into active interest in the welfare of 
the schools, and success has been won where defeat 
appeared certain. 

Since co-operation with the pupils is not only 
essential to the success of the school but is also the 
only means of enlisting the co-operation of forces 
outside of the school, it is very important to deter- 
mine as fully as possible what is meant by such co- 
operation and by what means it is most readily 
secured and maintained. 

It will be evident to all who have given this im- 
portant question any thoughtful consideration, that 
it is impossible to co-operate with anyone in any- 
thing without an abiding interest in the welfare and 
work of the one with whom the co-operation is de- 



216 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

sired. No spasmodic or passing interest will 
answer. Just as the business man soon learns that 
success necessitates the dedication of his life to 
the transaction of the business in which he is en- 
gaged and that nothing must be permitted to inter- 
fere with constant devotion to the work which 
confronts him, so the teacher who secures the co- 
operation of the pupils and thereby insures the 
success of the school must never allow his interest 
in the welfare of the children to lag nor his devotion 
to the school to decrease. 

On a hot August day, a member of a town- 
ship board of education met one of the teachers of 
the township high school, walking quite a distance 
from the interurban car line which had brought her 
from her home in the adjoining city. In answer to 
the suggestion that it must be an unusually urgent 
errand which brought her to the country on such a 
day, the surprising reply was made that she was 
making her annual trip over the township to call at 
the homes where children who had passed the county 
examination then required for entrance to the high 
school, lived. When it was found that it had been 
decided in the homes to send the children to the high 
school, she expressed her keen appreciation of the 
opportunity which would soon be hers of knowing 
and teaching them. If parents were undecided about 
sending the children to the high school, an effort 
was then made to show them the value of a high 
school education and to persuade them to give their 
children an opportunity to take advantage of it. 

When the boys and girls from these homes en- 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PUPILS 217 

tered the high school, they knew that in this teacher 
they had a friend. Many of them would never have 
gone to high school at all, had it not been for her 
unselfish service in visiting their homes. All of 
them were eager to co-operate with the teacher 
whose interest in their welfare made them anxious 
to help in every possible way to make the school a 
success. 

Instances of co-operation secured by teachers 
in all grades and in all types of schools, as the result 
of their abiding interest in the welfare and work 
of their pupils, might be multiplied indefinitely. On 
the other hand, it is unfortunately true that many 
instances might also be recorded of failure to attend 
school at all, or to remain in school after starting, 
or to do successful work while in school, in the 
grades, or in high school, or in college, because of a 
lack of such abiding interest on the part of teachers. 

It is also impossible to co-operate with any one 
in anything without a genuine sympathy for him 
in the experiences through which he may be pass- 
ing and with him in the work which he is attempt- 
ing to do. Such sympathy is more than pity, com- 
miseration, or condolence. It is a ^'feeling corre- 
sponding to that which another feels." It means 
that attitude of mind and heart which enables teach- 
ers to enter intelligently into the life of pupils, 
to understand how matters look to them, and 
to comprehend the motives which lead them to 
act or to fail to act. Genuinely sympathetic teachers 
know what it means to rejoice with them that do 
rejoice and to weep with them that weep. Whether 



218 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

they teach little children in the elementary school, 
larger boys and girls in the high school, or more 
mature students in the college or university, they 
keep constantly in mind the experiences of their 
own childhood and youth. And, as a result, they 
never lose the feeling corresponding to that which 
their pupils or students feel. 

There is nothing sentimental about genuine 
sympathy. It is never foolishly indulgent. It does 
not pretend to rejoice, when there is no occasion 
for ecstasy. It does not weep, when there is no 
cause for tears. It never leads teachers to do for 
pupils or students what they should do and must 
do for themselves in order to maintain their own 
self-respect and to develop their own powers. 
Genuine sympathy always includes a proper propor- 
tion of sense. It is justice tempered with mercy in 
the proper amount and applied in the proper quan- 
tity at the proper time. 

With such sympathy, teachers can readily find 
their way to the minds and hearts of those whom 
they teach, and thus secure that co-operation which 
is so essential to success. Without such sympathy, 
the relation of teachers and taught must always be 
lacking in that frankness and cordiality upon which 
the happiness and success of the school so largely 
depend. The mutual understanding of teachers and 
pupils, the ready obedience of pupils to the requests 
of teachers, and the attention, interest, and industry 
of pupils in all their work, found in well taught 
schools, are all characteristic of the spirit of co- 
operation resulting from the leadership and direc- 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PUPILS 219 

tion of teachers of genuine sympathy. On the other 
hand much of the misunderstanding, disobedience, 
indifference, inattention, and idleness, found in 
poorly taught schools, can be traced to a lack of co- 
operation resulting from a lack of leadership and 
direction due to a lack of genuine sympathy on the 
part of the teachers in charge of such schools. 

A third essential factor in co-operation, which 
is the natural outgrowth of the two already dis- 
cussed, is sincere appreciation. Normal individuals 
of all ages and conditions love to have their suc- 
cesses and their efforts to succeed recognized and 
appreciated. Children in the elementary schools 
and young people in high schools and colleges 
deserve, need, and should have the sincere apprecia- 
tion of their teachers in all that they succeed in 
doing well and in all that they earnestly strive to do 
well. 

It is well for teachers to keep constantly in 
mind what they owe to their pupils, without whose 
willingness and readiness to co-operate, it would 
be impossible for them either to discipline or to 
teach their schools. To realize the large part which 
the pupils of the school have in its discipline it is 
only necessary to observe what takes place on the 
play ground of any school any day of the school 
year. 

The recess period has come and hundreds of 
boys and girls go out on the play ground to engage 
in games of different kinds. Everywhere there is 
seen intense activity mingled with keen interest 
and real joy. Over in one corner of the large play 



220 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

ground, the older boys are playing; a game of base- 
ball with the intense enthusiasm so characteristic 
of their age. Just as the play time draws to a 
close, on all hands there are indications of unusual 
interest. The fielders go farther out in the field; 
the basemen become more alert; the shortstop gets 
ready to spring instantly in any and every direction. 
A glance at the home-plate reveals the cause of all 
the commotion. The champion batter is at the bat. 
The manner in which he stands and sways his bat 
tells plainly that he is determined to hit the ball, 
perhaps for a home-run, and to help to win a vic- 
tory for his side. In the pitcher's box is another 
boy, whose actions clearly prove that he is deter- 
mined, if possible, to throw a ball which not even 
the champion batter can hit. For some time he 
goes through all the contortions incident to wind- 
ing himself up. Just as he is about to throw the 
ball, which he hopes will help to win victory for his 
side, the school bell taps. The ball which he has 
been so long getting ready to throw, quietly drops 
into his pocket. At the call of the bell, which repre- 
sents the authority of the school, he and the other 
hundreds of boys and girls on the play ground in- 
stantly leave the games which they love. Within 
two minutes they have quietly marched to their dif- 
ferent rooms, are seated at their desks, and are busy 
with the preparation of their lessons. 

No finer manifestation of the true spirit of 
co-operation can be found anywhere than in such 
a scene. Uninterested, unsympathetic, and unap- 
preciative, indeed, must be any teacher who can 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PUPILS 221 

witness such a prompt response to the call of the 
school without renewed interest in the welfare of 
his pupils, without genuine sympathy for them in 
all that they do, or without sincere appreciation of 
all their efforts to make possible the discipline of 
the school. 

Such a manifestation of the spirit of co-opera- 
tion on the part of pupils will naturally lead any 
considerate teacher to a full realization at all times 
of what he owes to his pupils, and to wonder many 
times what would happen if, at any time, for any 
reason, they should decline to leave their games 
and return to their studies, when the call comes. 
How helpless the teacher would be in such an emer- 
gency ! There are not enough policemen in any dis- 
trict to drive the children from the play ground into 
the school room, if they should conclude "to co- 
operate" in defying the authority of the school. 
Could some of the narrow visioned fault finders of 
the work of the public schools realize, even to a 
small degree, what this spirit of co-operation, which 
exists in all good schools and which is encouraged 
by all good teachers, means in the life and in the 
training for citizenship of the boys and girls, their 
captious criticism of comparatively insignificant 
details would be turned into generous commenda- 
tion of the results of large significance secured by 
the schools. 

In the preparation of their daily lessons, as 
well as in their willingness to respond to the dis- 
cipline of the school, pupils make possible success- 
ful work in the class room. Sometimes teachers 



222 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

fail to recognize this fact. Some teachers spend so 
much time in scolding the occasional pupil who has 
a poorly prepared lesson, or in complaining about 
an occasional recitation which has not measured up 
to the ideal standard set for it, that no time is left 
to indicate in any manner the genuine appreciation 
which ought to be felt and expressed for lessons 
well prepared and recitations well made. Teachers 
who find that they are constantly irritated by what 
a small minority in their classes fail to do in the 
preparation or recitation of their lessons, and who 
are never pleased with what the large majority suc- 
ceed in doing day by day in both their preparation 
and recitation, should either resign or reform. The 
chief element in the reform essential to the success 
of such teachers, is the cultivation of the ability 
both to see what is worthy of sincere appreciation 
in the work of their pupils and to express this ap- 
preciation in such a manner as to call forth the 
best efforts of those whom they teach. 

All teachers of experience can no doubt recall 
instances of good results of appreciation shown by 
them for the efforts of their pupils. They know 
something of the joy which accompanies the expres- 
sion of such appreciation and of the pleasant recol- 
lections of it which permanently remain. Fortunate, 
indeed, are teachers who have no occasion to recall 
experiences of an opposite nature, which have re- 
sulted in the discouragement and, perhaps, the per- 
manent failure of their pupils. That teachers should 
unhesitatingly perform the unpleasant duty of chid- 
ing pupils for a failure to do their work well and 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PUPILS 223 

then neglect an opportunity of expressing their 
approbation of a decided improvement in their 
work, seems so strange and so unreasonable as to be 
unbelievable. Yet, that such actions are not uncom- 
mon v/ill find verification in the experience of most 
teachers. There is much truth in the following 
statement quoted from a recent editorial in The 
Sunday School Times: 

"There is some cruel influence at work in all our hearts 
which makes us just somehow refuse to say the word in 
season that would gladden and hold to us many a heart. 
Some mysterious offishness in us makes us withhold the good 
word that is almost on our lips to say, which we could even 
say enthusiastically after we had said it once or twice." 

In a high school, several years since, was a boy 
who possessed the not unusual combination of rare 
ability to learn together with a large amount of 
the inertia of rest. Because of his unquestioned 
ability to do his work exceptionally well and his 
apparent lack of any desire or ambition to do it at 
all, this boy was naturally the subject of much dis- 
cussion by the teachers and principal of the high 
school. Failing in their efforts to make any im- 
pression upon him, the teachers referred the boy to 
the superintendent of the schools, who was thor- 
oughly informed regarding his lack of application 
and who was exceedingly anxious to help the 
teachers in their attempt to arouse him to a realiza- 
tion of his opportunities and to a determination to 
go to work to improve them. 

An appeal was made to the boy to go to work, 
to improve his time and his opportunities and, as a 



224 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

result, to become the leader of his class, which he 
could easily do by proper application and study. 
Coupled with this appeal to his self-respect, was 
the suggestion that if he did not, of his own accord, 
reform his habits of idleness and show decided im- 
provement in his work, the assistance of his uncle 
and guardian, in whose home he had lived since the 
death of his father, would be sought. Neither the 
appeal nor the suggestion seemed to have any effect, 
and in due time, the superintendent kept his promise 
by performing the unpleasant duty of calling upon 
the uncle, one of the leading professional men of 
the community, and informing him of the failure 
of his nephew to do his school work in a satisfactory 
manner. With characteristic promptness and deter- 
mination, the uncle replied that he would attend to 
the matter immediately and would see to it that his 
nephew did his work as it should be done. Good 
results soon followed. The boy applied himself to 
his studies and soon became as conspicuous for good 
recitations as he had previously been for poor ones. 
Teachers, principal, and superintendent were all 
much pleased with the change in the boy's attitude 
toward his work, and were encouraged to know that 
the visit to the home had brought such desirable 
results. 

The astonishing fact connected with this inci- 
dent is not that the boy improved in his work but 
that it never occurred to. the superintendent that 
an excellent opportunity to perform a most pleasant 
duty awaited him. In the course of a few months, 
however, the existence of such an opportunity was 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PUPILS 225 

called to his attention in a manner never to be for- 
gotten. 

On a Saturday afternoon, as the superintendent 
was walking up the street, the boy in question, who 
had been doing such satisfactory work for several 
months, met him; and asked for a conference which 
was most cheerfully granted. The conference 
opened with a statement from the boy to the effect 
that the superintendent probably remembered that, 
several months before in his office he had had a 
meeting with him at which the boy's poor standing 
in school had been discussed, and that he had been 
told that unless there was an immediate improve- 
ment in his work, the assistance of his uncle would 
be sought. The superintendent was pleased that the 
boy remembered the incident and, with no little 
satisfaction, replied that he, too, distinctly recalled 
the conversation and that he had visited the uncle 
and had performed the unpleasant duty, as he had 
promised. The boy then asked the superintendent 
whether he knew anything about the character of 
his work since and, if so, whether any improvement 
had been made or not. To this question the superin- 
tendent was glad to be able to reply that he was 
fully informed about the boy's work and that all his 
teachers had reported a decided improvement in all 
his studies. At this point, the boy showed marked 
signs of deep feeling and with his voice trembling 
with emotion said : 

"If you are sure that I am doing better work, 
would you mind going and telling my uncle?" 

15 



226 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

As the superintendent hurried away from that 
conference to call again on the uncle to perform 
the pleasant duty of telling him that his nephew, 
concerning whom such serious complaint had been 
made a few months before, because of his failure 
to do his school work in a satisfactory manner, was 
now meeting the highest expectations of his teachers 
by doing his work well, he sorrowfully wondered 
why he had to be reminded by the boy of the fine 
opportunity which had come to him to perform a 
pleasant duty by doing a gracious act. And he 
firmly determined that in the future he would con- 
stantly try to be on the alert to recognize and im- 
prove all such opportunities. When looking for 
such opportunities, it is astonishing how many of 
them can be found, how greatly burdens are light- 
ened, and how much more efl[icient life becomes by 
an expression of sincere appreciation of the earnest 
efforts and honest work of others. 

The failure of so many people, including too 
many teachers, to express appreciation of earnest 
effort and honest work is due to different causes. 
With some, no appreciation is ever expressed be- 
cause none is ever felt. And none is ever felt be- 
cause of a lack of any capacity to feel. Such people 
pride themselves in never being moved to feel deeply 
about anything or for anyone. They pretend to 
believe that all feeling, especially the expression of 
it, is a sure sign of intellectual weakness, and 
that the absence of all expression of appreciation 
marks them as superior individuals. The presence 
of such people anywhere is a menace to the happi- 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PUPILS 227 

ness and welfare of humanity. To permit them to 
teach in either elementary schools, high schools, or 
colleges is a crime against childhood and youth. 

A much larger class of persons, including not 
a few teachers, seldom, if ever, indulge in expres- 
sions of appreciation of any one or for anything, 
largely because of indifference or thoughtlessness, 
both of which are closely related to selfishness. They 
have, or at one time did have both the capacity to 
feel appreciation and the desire to express it. But 
because of a failure to cultivate the capacity, they 
have become indifferent to the encouragement which 
they can give to others and to the happiness which 
will come to themselves by letting their apprecia- 
tion be known. There is no more certain way to 
dwarf the soul and to destroy all that is best in life 
than to withhold the expressions of sincere ap- 
preciation which the heart feels and is prompted 
to give. On the other hand to cultivate the habit 
of giving praise to whom it is due, when it is due, 
is to cause the soul to grow and the life to expand 
in power to bless both those who receive and those 
who give. 

Teachers of real power are never indifferent 
to their opportunities to speak the word of apprecia- 
tion and encouragement, which means so much to 
the young lives under their direction. They are 
never thoughtless in taking advantage of such op- 
portunities. They keep selfishness out of their own 
hearts and lives and win success for themselves 
and the schools which they teach by acting upon the 
advice given to the young teacher as recorded in 



228 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

the opening pages of this chapter, and by unselfishly- 
giving to the children all of the best that they have, 
in an abiding interest in their welfare and work, in 
a genuine sympathy for them in all that they do, 
and in a sincere appreciation of all their efforts to 
follow the leadership of their teachers and to meet 
the requirements of the school. 



CHAPTER XVI 

CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH ONE ANOTHER 

WHILE co-operation should begin with the 
children in the school, it should not end 
there. In all their relations with one 
another, teachers should at all times be actuated by 
a desire to be mutually helpful. They should never 
permit themselves to become envious of the success 
of others nor to be influenced by the petty jealousies, 
which too often manifest themselves in their ranks, 
and which result in so much injury both to them- 
selves and to the schools which they teach. Their 
relations should be characterized by such a spirit 
of co-operation as will encourage frankness of 
speech to each other in the discussion of the work 
in which they are engaged and discourage all cap- 
tious criticism of what is being done. 

The absence of this spirit of co-operation some- 
times leads teachers to talk about one another in an 
unfriendly, unprofessional manner rather than to 
each other, with a desire to be mutually helpful. It 
is not uncommon to hear college professors criticise, 
in a most caustic manner, the work of high school 
teachers, and teachers in the high school complain 
about the poorly prepared pupils promoted from 
the grammar school, and so on down the line. In 
the majority of instances such criticisms and com- 
plaints are unjust and, if persisted in, are usuually 

(229) 



230 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

a certain indication of the inferior teaching ability 
of those who indulge in them, and who hope, 
thereby, to cover up their own deficiencies and 
short comings. Even where there is any justi- 
fication for such criticisms and complaints, it 
usually does no good to make them. With teachers 
who know how to instruct and who are charac- 
terized by the true spirit of co-operation, poorly 
prepared pupils can be helped to overcome their 
deficiencies in much less time and with much less 
effort than are often worse than wasted in finding 
fault with the work of their previous teachers. 

Usually teachers who have the right attitude 
toward their work, who are actuated by the spirit of 
co-operation, and who do not, therefore, try to ex- 
cuse their own deficiencies and failures by laying 
the blame on others, are never inclined to complain 
about the work of teachers from whose schools their 
pupils have been promoted. If, however, the ten- 
dency to indulge in such complaints should manifest 
itself, all that is ordinarily needed to correct it is to 
call their attention to the readiness with which they 
assented, at the close of the preceding term or year, 
to the promotion of some of their own pupils, who 
were not any better prepared to do the work of 
the next grade or class, than the inadequately pre- 
pared pupils, who have been promoted to their 
grade or class, and of whom they have shown a 
tendency to complain. 

It is in the promotion of pupils, as well as in 
their treatment after they have been promoted, that 



CO-OPERATION, TEACHERS WITH ONE ANOTHER 231 

the presence of the spirit of co-operation brings 
such beneficial results, and its absence works such 
serious harm to both pupils and teachers. In order 
that justice be done to children who are classified as 
dull or slow, it is exceedingly important that all 
the teachers who come in contact with them shall 
be united in a common bond of interest in them and 
sympathy for them. 

Near the close of the school year, a superin- 
tendent of schools visited the different buildings to 
confer with the principals and teachers regarding 
the promotion of pupils. There was no doubt as to 
what should be done with the majority of them, 
since their work, had been reasonably well done 
and they were, therefore, reasonably well prepared 
to be promoted to the next grade. A few pupils, 
however, presented a problem for serious considera- 
tion. Their work had not measured up to the rea- 
sonable standard set for promotion and there was 
serious doubt as to whether they should be promoted 
or not. In a seventh grade two pupils of this type 
were the subject of discussion. They were older 
than the other children in their class. While they 
had tried hard to keep up with the work of the 
class, they had, in a measure at least, failed to do 
so. What should be done with them? To mere 
theorists in education, who know nothing of the re- 
sponsibility which accompanies the carrying out of 
theories, such a question seems easy to answer. But 
hundreds of capable and conscientious teachers can 
testify to the perplexity which has come to them 



232 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

when they have tried to decide what should be done 
under such conditions. After a full discussion of 
the different phases of the question, the superin- 
tendent asked the teacher of the two pupils under 
consideration what she thought should be done 
with them. She had had them under her direc- 
tion for a year. She knew not only the character 
of their work, but what was of far greater im- 
portance in making a decision, she also knew the 
character of their effort to do the work. Being an 
intelligent teacher she was also well informed as to 
the requirements of the eighth grade, which the 
pupils would be expected to meet should they be 
promoted. With all this information to guide her 
in coming to a conclusion, she unhesitatingly replied 
that, considering the age of the pupils and the other 
factors entering into the problem, she was certain 
that they would derive more benefit from going on 
to the eighth grade than from being kept back in 
the seventh grade for another year, and for this 
reason alone, they should be promoted. The super- 
intendent immediately directed that the pupils 
should be promoted as the teacher had recom- 
mended, and was greatly surprised to have her 
state that she could not consent to it. On being 
asked why she could not consent to carrying out 
her own recommendation, the teacher reluctantly 
replied that she could not endure the caustic 
criticism of the eighth grade teacher to whom the 
pupils would go, if they were promoted, and who 
would constantly complain, both in school and out, 
of their lack of preparation and of the inferior 



CO-OPERATION, TEACHERS WITH ONE ANOTHER 233 

work of the teacher who had consented to their 
promotion. 

While it may be possible that the preceding 
incident illustrates in an extreme manner the harm- 
ful results of the lack of the spirit of co-operation 
of one teacher, it is feared that many similar 
incidents differing only in degree, can be found 
in the record of the experience of school ad- 
ministration. As long as the slightest trace of such 
a spirit as was manifested by this eighth grade 
teacher remains with any teacher in any grade, the 
complete co-operation, which is essential to the suc- 
cess of a system of schools, is impossible. While 
teachers should never be excused for poor work due 
to a lack of effort on their part, and should be held 
to strict accountability for the reasonable prepara- 
tion of their pupils for the work of the next grade 
or class, when reasonable requirements have been 
met and promotions have been made in the belief 
that the best interests of the pupils promoted have 
been conserved, then the true spirit of co-operation 
demands that all carping criticism shall cease. 

All teachers, in either elementary schools or 
high schools, who are not willing to be controlled 
by such a spirit of co-operation and who, thereby, 
prove that they are incompetent to work in harmony 
with other teachers, should be eliminated as dis- 
turbing factors in the administration of the schools 
with which they are connected. 

In recent years much has been said on the sub- 
ject of waste in education. Attention has been re- 



234 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

peatedly called to the large amount of material 
found in some of the text books, especially in 
arithmetic and geography, which has little, if any 
value of any kind for any one. In many instances 
eliminations have been made with benefit to pupils, 
who are thereby given more time to master the 
essentials of the studies pursued, and also to 
teachers, who are thereby relieved from giving at- 
tention to a mass of unimportant details, and are 
enabled to concentrate their attention upon the pre- 
sentation of the things of fundamental importance. 
Attention has repeatedly been called to the great 
importance of lesson plans carefully prepared by 
teachers for use in the class room, with the definite 
purpose of utilizing all the time of each recitation 
in the most profitable manner. While such methods 
of eliminating waste and economizing time are to 
be commended, it is possible that teachers may be- 
come so engrossed in formulating plans to carry 
these methods into execution, in their own grades 
or classes, as to lose sight of the larger waste which 
so often results from a lack of co-operation with 
the other teachers with whom they are associated. 
In some of the large universities, with their 
numerous colleges and over-organized departments, 
and with the teaching of the different professors, 
assistant professors, instructors, fellows, and stu- 
dent helpers, so minutely specialized that the same 
things are not infrequently presented under differ- 
ent names, there often exists a large and inex- 
cusable waste of energy, time, and money due to 
a duplication of work. In the elementary schools, 



CO-OPERATION, TEACHERS WITH ONE ANOTHER 235 

however, the opposite condition prevails. In these 
schools, the teachers are not specialists. Their work 
is to present the elements of knowledge to begin- 
ners, and, by means of line upon line and precept 
upon precept, here a little and there a little, to teach 
the fundamentals upon which all future education 
must depend. In the elementary schools, therefore, 
the waste is not, as a rule, due to the duplication 
of work found in the universities, but to a lack of 
co-operation of the teachers in the different grades 
or classes in emphasizing and re-emphasizing with 
sufficient drills and re-drills the fundamental things 
which can be learned by the vast majority of chil- 
dren in no other way. 

It is the business of second grade teachers, not 
only to advance the children a little farther in their 
education, but also to see to it that the tools of 
learning placed in their hands by the first grade 
teachers are so intelligently and persistently used as 
to insure skill in their use. Third grade teachers 
must never conclude that, when the little section 
of the course of study specially assigned to them 
has been taught, their whole duty has been per- 
formed. The work of previous teachers must be 
carefully reviewed in order that the pupils may be 
given, by means of daily practice, still greater ac- 
curacy in their knowledge of essentials and still 
greater proficiency in the use of such knowledge. 
Teachers of all grades or classes should recognize 
not only the importance of teaching well the new 
subject matter outlined for their pupils, but also 
the necessity of perfecting in so far as possible the 



236 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

1 
knowledge and understanding of the subjects previ- 
ously studied by their pupils. In some schools, the 
results of the failure of teachers to co-operate in 
this manner are apparent in the pupils' lack of 
thoroughness and accuracy in the subjects studied. 
It is not uncommon to find that the knowledge of 
phonetics, a most important and usually a well 
taught subject in the primary grades, is permitted 
to lapse, because of a failure to make any practical 
use of it, with the result that all that has been once 
learned is practically entirely forgotten and later 
on has to be taught all over again. 

The inaccuracies in arithmetic, which are too 
common and too numerous, and which result in a 
large waste of time, are in many instances the 
direct result of a lack of persistent practice in the 
use of the four fundamental operations, due to a 
false presumption of teachers that, since their 
pupils have already been taught to add, sub- 
tract, multiply, and divide, that work has been com- 
pleted and there is, therefore, no need of giving it 
any further attention. The philosphy of such 
teachers seems to be the, same as that of the small 
boy who, not being in love with the requirements 
of his music teacher that he must devote a great 
deal of time to practicing each day, asked his 
mother whether his father, a prominent member 
of the bar, was a real lawyer or not. On being in- 
formed that he was, the boy at once asked, "Then 
why does he have to practice?'' 

It is generally admitted that the results of lan- 
guage teaching are not satisfactory. Notwith- 



CO-OPERATION, TEACHERS WITH ONE ANOTHER 237 

standing the elaborately planned and frequently 
well taught courses of study in English in elemen- 
tary schools, high schools, and colleges, in too many 
instances the pupils and students who graduate 
from high school or college, or both high school and 
college, are unable to speak or to write with a rea- 
sonable degree of grammatical accuracy or to show 
any marked ability in the use of their mother 
tongue. While a part of the failure in language 
work is undoubtedly due to a type of teaching 
found in too many schools, which is so technical 
that it is lifeless and, therefore, of no real value, the 
unsatisfactory results secured are much more fre- 
quently due to a lack of co-operation in carrying 
out the course of language study prescribed in the 
elementary grades, and to the indifference of 
many high school and college teachers to the work 
which the special teacher of English is earnestly 
attempting to do. In no subject is there greater 
need of persistent practice to insure satisfactory 
results than in language, and in the teach- 
ing of no subject is there a greater lack of the co- 
operation absolutely necessary to secure such per- 
sistent practice, than is often found in the teaching 
of language. 

For many years departmental teaching has 
been the rule in high schools. In more recent years 
it has also come into use in many grammar schools. 
With the advent of junior or intermediate high 
schools, has come a large extension of this type of 
teaching. In many systems of schools the work of 
one teacher with all the pupils in all their studies 



238 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

ends with the sixth grade. While there are many 
arguments in favor of such departmental work, 
there are still many thoughtful and successful teach- 
ers and superintendents who have not yet been con- 
vinced that its introduction below the high school is 
advisable. Whatever difference of opinion may exist 
on this question, there can be no disagreement as to 
the absolute necessity of the co-operation of 
teachers who have charge of the departmental work 
in schools of any grade or type, if the best results are 
to be secured. To secure and to maintain such co- 
operation constitutes the most serious problem 
which confronts those who direct such teaching. 
The natural tendency of all special or departmental 
teachers is to magnify the importance of the sub- 
jects which they teach, and to minify the importance 
of the subjects taught by all other teachers asso- 
ciated with them. The inevitable result of this 
tendency, if not directed or controlled by wise and 
firm supervision, is that the teacher of each subject 
will claim more than a fair proportion of the time 
and energy of pupils in the preparation of lessons 
assigned by him. If all the teachers persist in mak- 
ing such claims and are equally strong in enforcing 
their demands, many pupils are soon so overwhelmed 
with the unreasonable amount of work required of 
them that they become either discouraged or indif- 
ferent. If some teachers are more reasonable than 
others in the claims which they make, or are less 
dogmatic in enforcing their claims, they soon find 
their own work slighted by the pupils. To make the 
problem still more difficult, it is sometimes true that 



CO-OPERATION, TEACHERS WITH ONE ANOTHER 239 

departmental teachers resent any supervision of 
their work, because of the ridiculous assumption 
that, since they have a special knowledge of the sub- 
jects which they teach, they must not submit to any 
advice or direction in their teaching. In many 
universities will be found fully matured representa- 
tives of this type of pedagogical bigots, and in some 
of the larger high schools, less mature but not less 
conceited representatives can also be found. 

In departmental teaching, it is highly important 
that the teachers of different subjects shall recognize 
the intimate relation which these different subjects 
often bear to one another and, therefore, be ready 
at all times to co-operate in their teaching by fre- 
quent consultations with reference to their work. 
In some schools, teachers of Latin and English, for 
example, attempt to do their work as though these 
subjects were in no way related, when in fact, they 
should be closely related in their presentation. 
Examples of the harmful results of the lack of co- 
operation in teaching these important subjects are 
too numerous. One illustration is recorded here. 

A young man, who had just graduated from a 
large high school of good standing, who was a good 
student, and who had taken the four years' course 
in Latin and the full course in English, consulted a 
friend with reference to the meaning of the word 
"pertinacious." He was referred to the dictionary. 
In a few minutes he reported that he was surprised 
to find that "pertinacious", as he pronounced it, 
meant holding on to an opinion or purpose with ob- 
stinacy or "sticking to it", while he had thought it 



240 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

meant about the same as "pertinent." When asked 
whether "Pertinacious" was the correct pronuncia- 
tion, he replied that he had not thought of the pro- 
nunciation and, of course, he had not observed it, 
when looking for the meaning of the word. Fur- 
ther inquiry revealed the fact that he had also failed 
to pay any attention to the derivation of the word 
from the Latin, which he had studied for four years. 
An interesting conference followed in which the 
young man's attention was called, apparently for the 
first time, to the long list of adjectives such as per- 
tinacious, rapacious, sagacious, and tenacious, which 
are pronounced with the long sound of "a", and 
whose corresponding nouns, pertinacity, rapacity, 
sagacity, and tenacity, are pronounced with the short 
sound of "a". The use of the dictionary in finding 
the root meaning of words was also pointed out and 
the derivation of many English words from the 
Latin was discussed. The young man showed in- 
tense interest in both the pronunciation of words 
and their derivation, and most generously expressed 
his appreciation of what he had learned about them 
in the conference. The friend could not help won- 
dering what his teachers of Latin and English had 
been doing all the four years they had taught the 
boy in the high school. Certainly they had not co- 
operated in their work in such a manner as to in- 
terest him in some of the things of fundamental 
importance in the study of both languages, or to 
teach him what every student ought to know thor- 
oughly, viz: how to use a dictionary with intelli- 
gence and purpose. 



CO-OPERATION, TEACHERS WITH ONE ANOTHER 241 

The frequent grade meetings held by and for 
the teachers of elementary schools usually furnish 
abundant opportunity for the discussion of the many 
problems of common interest to all of them, and by 
means of such discussion, for the cultivation of the 
spirit of co-operation which generally characterizes 
their work. It is unfortunately true, however, that 
the higher up we go in education, the less there 
seems to be of the spirit of mutual helpfulness 
among teachers. In some high schools its absence 
is much more in evidence than its presence, while in 
many colleges there is little or no attempt 
by the professors to work together for the com- 
mon good of the students. Teaching in one-room 
country schools has in recent years been the subject 
of much investigation. The lack of united effort on 
the part of many of the teachers of these schools to 
work together for their betterment, due in many 
instances to a lack of proper supervision, has been 
frequently pointed out and severely criticized. It is 
a mistake, however, to assume that the country 
schools are the only schools which need investiga- 
tion, or whose teachers lack in making united effort 
for their improvement. In effect, there are many 
"one-room" schools located in large high school and 
college buildings and taught by teachers with as 
little interest in what is going on in other class 
rooms in the same building and with as little con- 
cern as to the general welfare of their students as 
can possibly be charged to the most indifferent 
teacher of a one-room school in the country. 

Many benefits result from wise supervision of 

16 



242 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

schools. Perhaps the greatest of all these benefits 
is found in the cultivation of the spirit of co- 
operation which such supervision always seeks to 
create and to maintain among the teachers under 
its direction. In no schools is this supervision more 
greatly needed than in secondary schools and higher 
institutions of learning, many of whose teachers are 
recent graduates of colleges, with little or no ex- 
perience in teaching or knowledge of methods of 
presenting to their students the subject matter with 
which they may or may not be reasonably familiar. 
Unfortunately, there is less direction of the work of 
teaching in these schools than in any other. Per- 
haps after the reform of the country schools, now 
attracting and receiving so much attention from 
educators, has been completed in a reasonable meas- 
ure, and the teachers of these schools have been led 
to recognize the importance of co-operation with 
the pupils whom they teach and with one another, 
some attention can be given to the schools higher up. 
In recent years in a few instances teachers have 
organized to make demands upon superintendents 
and boards of education. With threats either direct 
or implied they have declared war upon all agencies 
which will not grant their demands and have vowed 
vengeance upon any one who, for any reason, failed 
to agree with their theories or to endorse their prac- 
tices. In neither the method nor the purpose of such 
organizations is there anything of the true spirit of 
genuine co-operation. The domineering dogmatism 
which so often characterizes the activities of those 
who promote such organizations, and who insist 



CO-OPERATION, TEACHERS WITH ONE ANOTHER 243 

upon directing their policy, is convincing proof that 
personal preferment is their main object. On the 
other hand when the true spirit of co-operation 
characterizes teachers, selfish ends are in a large 
measure lost sight of in an earnest desire to be 
mutually helpful for the common good of all. 

Instead of organizing to make arbitrary de- 
mands for advancement in position or increase in 
salary, teachers should co-operate to give more ef- 
ficient service and thereby to merit the recognition 
which usually brings both advancement in position 
and increase in salary to those who deserve them. 
Whatever may be the merits or demerits of the 
"strike" as a means of securing the rights of labor 
in its contest with capital, the work of teaching is 
such that those who engage in it can never afford 
to resort to the methods sometimes used by "strik- 
ers" to secure recognition. 

All really professional teachers are character- 
ized by a keen sense of v/hat is right and proper in 
their relations with one another. They are careful 
never to violate either the letter or the spirit of 
that fine Professional Courtesy which avoids even 
the appearance of seeking, either directly or in- 
directly, positions rightfully belonging to others. 
"An officially declared vacancy with no possibility 
of re-electing the present incumbent" is the only 
condition under which self-respecting teachers will 
permit themselves to be considered as applicants 
for a position which has been filled by another 
teacher. 

In 1879, the Ohio State Teachers' Association 



244 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

appointed a committee, with instructions to report 
a Code of Professional Ethics at the next meeting 
of the Association. In accordance with these in- 
structions, at the next meeting held in Chautauqua, 
N. Y., July 7-8, 1880, Honorable W. D. Henkle, 
chairman of the committee, announced that while 
there was no formal report prepared for presenta- 
tion, "for himself he thought a sufficient code was 
embodied in the Scriptural Injunction stated either 
affirmatively or negatively, *Do unto others as you 
would have them do unto you,' or Do not unto others 
as you would not have them do unto you." 

All teachers who are imbued with the true spirit 
of co-operation will readily give assent to this Code 
of Ethics. The Golden Rule of conduct formulated 
by the Great Teacher is the only basis of that gen- 
uine co-operation which eliminates selfishness and 
insures success. 



CHAPTER XVII 

CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 

SUCCESS of teachers in co-operating with 
children in the discipline and work of the 
school and with one another in all that 
pertains to the highest welfare both of the school 
and of the community in which the school is located, 
is the one sure foundation upon which to build co- 
operation with patrons. Unless teachers can and 
do prove their real worth by working successfully 
with the children in their daily tasks and by work- 
ing harmoniously with one another in everything 
that pertains to the highest and best interests of 
the schools which they have been elected to serve, 
they have no right either to ask or to expect the 
co-operation of the fathers and mothers whose chil- 
dren they teach. But when teachers do prove their 
worth by proving their ability to co-operate with 
their pupils and with one another, then they should 
have and, in the majority of instances, they will 
have the hearty co-operation of the homes of the 
community. 

In securing this much desired co-operation 
without which the fullest measure of success is im- 
possible, it is important that teachers should realize 
that it is always their privilege and usually their 
duty to take the initiative. Teachers cannot afford 
to rest upon any such false idea of dignity as will 

(245) 



246 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

lead them to await the coming of parents to an- 
nounce that they are ready to co-operate in' making 
the school a success. Parents naturally look 
to the teachers of their children for a positive 
manifestation of that friendly spirit which attracts 
other kindred spirits and which is an essential 
characteristic of teachers who really desire to work 
with the people of a community, through the 
schools, for the advancement of the highest and best 
interests of all. If teachers would have friends, 
they must show themselves genuinely friendly. 

Few teachers are now living, who have had 
actual experience in "boarding around" • which, in 
the earlier days, was a common custom. While this 
custom undoubtedly had some features which were 
not highly desirable, it did provide an opportunity 
for teachers to gain an intimate acquaintance with 
the home life of both the children and their parents, 
and, by means of such acquaintance, to open up the 
way for co-operation between the home and the 
school. 

While teachers are no longer compelled to visit 
homes, as in the past, for boarding purposes, all 
teachers whose desire for co-operation leads them 
to appreciate the importance of a knowledge of the 
home conditions of their pupils, welcome every op- 
portunity which presents itself for home visitation. 
Fortunate are those teachers who are able to visit 
homes with both pleasure and profit to themselves 
as well as to the children and their parents. The 
results which often follow such visits are of the 
immeasureable variety. Some of us can still recall 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 247 

the delight which came to us as children, when a 
loved teacher came to our home to take supper. If, 
perchance, he stayed all night, remained for break- 
fast, and permitted us to walk to school with him in 
the morning, enough joy was stored up to last for 
weeks or months. More than one individual can 
trace a determination to get an education to such a 
home visit from a friendly teacher. 

Unfortunately, the increasing formalism which 
now characterizes social life, especially in towns and 
cities, renders less frequent the invitations of par- 
ents to teachers to accept the hospitality of their 
homes. Because of this condition, the children whose 
home life creates the greatest need for the intimate 
friendship of their teachers, are often entirely de- 
prived of it. It is always difficult to secure the co- 
operation of the home when the parents are the 
victims of the extreme formalities which sometimes 
characterize social usage. If such parents could 
only realize how much good they could do them- 
selves, their children, the teachers of their children, 
the school, and the community by opening their 
homes and their hearts to the teachers, they would 
hasten to extend to them every courtesy and con- 
sideration within their power. By so doing, they 
would experience a joy which is unknown to all who 
live selfish and exclusive lives. Fortunately there 
still remain in all communities some homes in which 
teachers are always welcome guests. In such homes 
will always be found parents whose greatest pleas- 
ure is to co-operate with the teachers of their chil- 



248 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

dren in every movement which has for its purpose 
the betterment of the schools. 

To some of the poorer homes, representatives 
of which can be found in nearly all communities, a 
visit from an interested and sympathetic teacher 
will often come as a benediction to the parents. 
Such a visit will usually reveal to the teacher rare 
opportunities for giving such help as will secure 
the co-operation which is so much needed in order 
that the school may be enabled to render the highest 
service. 

Into a high school located in the center of a 
mining region, came a young woman who had been 
employed to teach the important subject of domestic 
science. She was well equipped in knowledge and 
by training secured in an excellent school from 
which she had graduated. In addition to her 
knowledge and training, she possessed two qualifi- 
cations absolutely essential to success in her work. 
One of these qualifications was an unusual supply 
of good common sense which caused her to realize 
that her teaching of domestic science must be 
adapted to the conditions and needs of the homes 
from which her pupils came. The other qualifica- 
tion was a consuming desire to be really helpful in 
her teaching. She was anxious to serve not only 
the girls whom she had an opportunity to teach, but 
through her teaching of them, to do all in her power 
to improve the home life of the community. Within 
a few weeks after the opening of school, practically 
all the homes that had girls in the high school were 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 249 

visited. When possible, the visits were so timed as 
to give the teacher an opportunity to gain some 
knowledge of the kind of food eaten and some idea 
of how it was prepared and served. With that rare 
tact known only to the teachers who are endowed 
with an abundance of common sense and who are 
fully possessed by a consuming desire to be really 
helpful, she soon gained entrance into the hearts as 
well as the homes of the parents. The majority of 
these parents were of foreign birth. They were 
living in accordance with the customs of the coun- 
tries from which they came and were in sad need 
of some influence to direct them to better things. 
As a result of the visits of the teacher, the confi- 
dence of the parents as well as that of the children 
was won to such an extent that she could 
talk freely to both parents and children about their 
home life. Having secured definite information as 
to the kind of food used in the home and of the 
changes necessary in cooking it in order that it 
might be made more palatable and more healthful, 
and a knowledge of the reforms necessary in house- 
keeping to make the home life more desirable, the 
teacher taught domestic science to the girls in such 
a manner as to give them a usable knowledge of how 
best to cook the kind of food served in their own 
homes and of how best to keep house in the midst 
of the surroundings in which they lived. In addi- 
tion to this knowledge, they gained from their 
teacher as well as from her teaching something of 
still greater importance than the knowledge itself. 
This was a determination to use their knowledge 



250 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

in their homes in such a manner as to improve the 
cooking of food furnished and to make their homes 
more attractive in every way. The superintendent 
of schools in the community in which this high 
school is located is authority for the statement that 
many of the homes have been completely trans- 
formed as the result of the co-operative spirit mani- 
fested by the teacher of domestic science. It is, 
perhaps, needless to add that the parents in these 
homes are in hearty sympathy with the school and 
are always ready to co-operate in every possible 
way to help the teacher in her work. 

To all teachers, there comes in a greater or 
less degree an opportunity to manifest a spirit of 
co-operation by leaving the narrow path marked 
out by mere necessity and by going out of the way 
to do for their pupils and the homes from which they 
come something which is not required by the letter 
of the contract that teachers are usually expected 
to sign. It should be remembered, however, that to 
depart from mere formal requirements, in order to 
gain entrance to the hearts and homes of parents, 
always involves much additional work by teachers. 
But it is additional work which always brings 
in large returns and which invariably secures 
co-operation from parents. The domestic science 
teacher might have taught cooking and home- 
making to the girls, as it is too often taught in 
schools, with no reference to the needs of the com- 
munity. It would have required less effort to begin 
the work in the routine way than to visit the homes 
in order to gain a knowledge of their needs. The 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 251 

teaching, however, was made more effective in its 
results by the extra effort made in the beginning to 
discover the needs which should in a measure, at 
least, always determine the character of the teach- 
ing. And the co-operation of the home secured by 
this extra effort of the teacher made possible the 
success of the teaching. 

Insistence that teachers should take the initia- 
tive in the work of securing the co-operation of 
parents, and that they should go out of their way, 
if necessary, to show a personal interest in the 
homes from which their pupils come, does not sig- 
nify that parents have no responsibility to assume in 
connection with the education of their own children 
or in relation to the success of the school which 
their children attend. Upon all parents there rests 
a responsibility which cannot be evaded or neglected 
without serious loss to their children and to the 
school. No teacher however faithful in the per- 
formance of her duties or however sympathetic with 
her pupils, can entirely fill the place of the parents 
in the life of the child. No school however efficient 
can fully take the place of the home. 

It is impossible not to view with regret and 
anxiety the present tendency to turn over to the 
public schools more and more of the moral as well 
as of the physical and intellectual education and 
training of children, and, thereby, to require teach- 
ers to assume more and more of the responsibility 
which many homes no longer seem willing to carry. 
While this tendency seems quite complimentary to 
the public schools and their teachers, it is an indica- 



252 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

tion of a letting down of home standards, which is 
not at all complimentary to the home. Neither is it 
encouraging to the school, because in the majority 
of instances, homes that evade the responsibility 
which rightfully belongs to them, fail to give co- 
operation to the teachers to whom they have at- 
tempted to transfer all the responsibility connected 
with the education and training of their children. 
The less parents do for their own children in the 
home the less they are willing to do to help the 
teachers of the schools which their childrenj attend. 
It is highly important for the welfare of all con- 
cerned that recognition be given to the fact that 
there are some duties belonging to the home, which 
cannot be delegated to any school, and which, if 
neglected by the home, must remain unperformed, 
to the lasting injury of child life and to the serious 
detriment of the highest and best interests of 
society and the state. 

There is a general agreement that it is well to 
keep the public school buildings open for the use of 
both the children and their parents for longer 
periods each day and for many more days of the 
year than has usually been customary in the past. 
But an attempt to substitute the school for the 
home as an abiding place, or to substitute the 
teacher for the father and mother in assuming en- 
tire responsibility for the training of children is 
not to be commended. It is always unwise, to say 
the least, for the school to attempt to compete with 
the home in the performance of duty for which the 
home should be held primarily responsible. If par- 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 253 

ents make no attempt to control their children out- 
side of school, they have no right to expect the teach- 
ers to do what they, as parents, have neglected or 
failed to do. If, as the result of the failure of parents 
to secure obedience from their children out- 
side of school, the children spend their time in pool 
rooms, dance halls, and other places of questionable 
character, the school should not be expected, re- 
quired, or permitted to introduce into school either 
during school hours or in the evening at the school 
house, card games, pool tables, and dancing in order 
to counteract the evil influence outside of school, 
resulting from the indifference of parents to the 
welfare of their own children. If questionable 
games and practices are to be introduced into the 
activities of the school in order to protect children 
from outside temptations, we may well inquire what 
is to be the outcome of such a policy. If pool, cards, 
and dancing are necessary in school life to protect 
children from the evil associated with such games 
and recreations, when indulged in outside of school, 
then it would seem to be logical to add the school 
bar to the equipment, in all communities in which 
saloons still exist, in order to keep the boys and 
girls away from the evil influences of the outside 
saloon. Cigarettes might also be furnished to the 
boys in school at cost, thereby effecting a saving in 
money and at the same time affording a protection 
to all who would otherwise be tempted to buy and to 
smoke cigarettes outside of school. If the policy of 
substituting the school for the home be persisted in, 
a little later on we may expect some reformer to 



254 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

propose the building of school houses which can be 
utilized as apartments for the family. In such 
buildings the parents as well as the children could 
spend all their time under the care and direction of 
teachers. By such a plan all responsibility would be 
transferred from the home to the school, and 
parents would thereby be relieved of all care. 

Moreover the public schools have no right to 
introduce into the life of the children who attend 
them any activities or practices which do not meet 
with the approval of a large number of parents, 
because of conscientious scruples against such activi- 
ties and practices. The schools have always been 
most careful not to interfere in the slightest degree 
with the religious opinions or convictions of any 
one by teaching sectarianism in any form. It is 
equally important that the schools be just as careful 
not to sanction games, amusements, or practices 
concerning the moral influence of which there exists 
an honest difference of opinion among parents. 

The suggestion is sometimes made that while 
pupils below the high school should not be permitted 
to indulge in such games, amusements, or practices 
in the evenings at the school house, because they 
should be in their homes under parental control and 
in bed early to secure needed sleep, high school 
pupils should be released from such parental control 
and should find in the school house in the evenings, 
an opportunity to gratify their social desires and 
instincts. From such suggestions as this come some 
of the greatest difficulties which at present confront 
the high school. One of the most serious hindrances 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 255 

to the best work in high schools is found in the 
harmful indulgences granted to children outside of 
school hours by foolish parents who seem to be suf- 
fering from the delusion that boys and girls of high 
school age should no longer be subjected to any re- 
straining influences in the home, but should be con- 
tinually entertained and amused. Teachers are con- 
stantly told that high school boys and girls must 
not be overworked. Many parents need to be told 
in such a manner as to lead them to take heed, if 
such telling be possible, that these same boys and 
girls, whose rapidly growing bodies require not 
only plenty of food and exercise, but also an abun- 
dance of sleep in order that they may grow phys- 
ically, mentally, and morally strong, must not be 
over-indulged and "over-societied" while out of 
school. At no time in the life of children are home 
restraints and firm parental control more greatly 
needed than during high school age. If parents 
would wisely exercise such control of their children 
and would administer wholesome discipline in the 
home when needed, there would never be any occa- 
sion for asking the school to save their children 
from evil influences outside of school. 

In the so-called lower walks of life, parents are 
sometimes cited to appear in court where they are 
required to give bond as a guarantee that they will 
properly care for their children. There are good 
reasons to believe that the jurisdiction of the court 
should be extended so as to include some parents 
higher up in the social scale who admit their failure 
to care properly for their children by asking the 



256 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

public schools to provide for their oversight both in 
school and out of school, by night as well as by day. 
The public school should be a mighty agency 
for good in every community. It should enter sym- 
pathetically into the life of children whenever and 
wherever possible. It should constantly give the 
pupils who attend it that training in respect for 
authority and in obedience to law, which is so essen- 
tial to growth in character and so fundamental in 
good citizenship. It should do all that can be done 
to arouse interest in study and to make pupils happy 
in their work. It should join with the home in pro- 
viding at proper times and under favorable condi- 
tions wholesome entertainment and amusement for 
both children and adults. It should co-operate in 
every possible way with the home in surrounding 
children both in school and out of school with such 
influences as will develop and conserve all that is 
best in life and character. But in doing all this, the 
public school cannot take the place of the home. 
Unless the home performs the duties incumbent 
upon it, boys and girls of school age must suffer as 
a result. Unless parents do their duty in the home 
and thereby co-operate with the teachers in the 
school in giving the proper training to the rising 
generation, it is unreasonable to censure the school 
for the inferior product which Is certain to result 
from a lack of such co-operation. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 
(Continued) 

THE attitude of parents toward teachers, as 
well as the treatment of parents by teach- 
ers, is an important factor in determining 
whether or not co-operation shall characterize the 
relations existing between them. If the home is 
indifferent to the welfare of the school, there is 
little hope of co-operation between parents and 
teachers. If the home is in sympathy with the 
school and is willing to help the teachers in their 
work, co-operation is certain to follow. There are 
many ways in which the home can help the school 
and thereby show a willingness on the part of par- 
ents to co-operate. 

In the first place the home can help the school 
by a clear realization, together with a definite recog- 
nition of the fact that, in aims and purposes, their 
mission is one and the same. This mission is the 
development of all that is highest and best in life 
and character. In the home the children should 
always be led to think of their teachers as friends 
who are anxious to help the parents in securing 
what is best for their children. It is encouraging to 
think that in the majority of instances the relations 
between home and school and parents and teachers 
are growing more cordial. But it is sad to relate 

17 (257) 



258 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

that there are still too many instances of a lack of 
this cordial relationship which is so essential to the 
success of the school. 

A few years since in one of the smaller towns 
of the middle west, a visitor was taking an evening 
walk. A short distance ahead of him, a small boy 
was playing on the sidewalk. A shrill voice, pitched 
in a high key and belonging to some one inside of 
the adjoining house, sternly commanded the boy to 
stop playing and to come into the house. This voice 
at once attracted the attention of the visitor but it 
had no effect on the boy who no doubt heard the call 
which he certainly did not heed. The voice from the 
inside of the house grew louder and harsher in re- 
peating the command. But the boy played right on 
apparently indifferent to any call from any source. 
Suddenly a woman — undoubtedly the mother — 
emerged from the door with broom in hand. In an 
angry and excited manner, she addressed the boy : 

"You won't mind me, won't you? Well, you 
just wait till next September, when I'll start you to 
school, and then I guess you'll catch it !" 

Occasionally thoughtless parents try to frighten 
their children into obedience by telling them that 
some wild animal will devour them, if they do not do 
what they are told to do. Sometimes even the fear 
of the devil, himself, is aroused in the minds of 
children to help in securing good behavior. But this 
fond mother had so far advanced in her methods of 
parental control that she was able to renounce all 
such inferior helps and to call to her aid, several 
months in advance, the prospective teacher of her 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 259 

disobedient boy in an attempt to secure home dis- 
cipline. With such home preparation as this 
mother's treatment of her boy furnished, he 
would enter school with the feeling that his teacher 
was an enemy to be feared and shunned, rather than 
a friend to be honored and loved. With such a 
feeling in the heart of the boy, the teacher's effort to 
win his confidence would be useless. Not until all 
such feeling was eradicated could the teacher hope 
to exercise a wholesome influence in his life or to 
direct his work in a satisfactory manner. 

The home can also help the school in the im- 
portant work of discipline — that discipline which 
teaches respect for rightly constituted authority and 
obedience to wholesome regulations — ^that discipline 
which produces good behavior and which results in 
good character. No sane person doubts the neces- 
sity of such discipline in the training of children. 
The occasional plea of sentimental theorists that in 
this progressive age no discipline of any kind is 
needed, can well be ignored by both parents and 
teachers. To come in contact with a "modern" 
child reared under the direction of a "modern" 
mother who has applied the "modem" theory that 
no discipline is essential to the development of char- 
acter will convince any one of the absurdity of such 
a claim. A brief visit to a school in which pupils 
are permitted to do as they please will usually serve 
to arouse pity for the pupils who are the helpless 
victims of the resulting disorder, together with con- 
tempt for the teacher who is primarily responsible 
for it. 



260 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

The intelligent, tactful teacher whose head is 
clear, heart warm, and will strong, can usually suc- 
ceed in discipline without resorting to corporal pun- 
ishment in any form. In the past, in too many in- 
stances, such punishment has been inflicted without 
reason or excuse by ignorant, indifferent or brutal 
teachers with uncontrollable tempers, whose only 
hope of subduing their pupils was by such a con- 
stant manifestation of physical force as kept the 
children in a state of perpetual fear. The frequent 
use of the rod in either the home or the school is 
always a sign of weakness on the part of the 
parent or the teacher, who resorts to such use. The 
less frequent use of the rod in both home and school, 
as compared with the past, is an indication that par- 
ents and teachers are becoming wiser, more humane, 
and, therefore, more competent to direct the young 
lives committed to their care. 

Notwithstanding the fact that, as a result of a 
better understanding of child nature and of a wiser 
and more humane treatment of children, the rod has 
been banished in a large measure from all well di- 
rected homes and well managed schools, it is not 
wise for either parents, teachers, or boards of educa- 
tion to announce that under no circumstances will 
corporal punishment be inflicted or permitted. To 
make such an announcement is the best way to en- 
courage the occasional outlaw — and there are 
usually a few representatives of this class even in 
the best communities — to indulge in such acts of 
disobedience and insubordination as can be properly 
met only by the punishment which has been pro- 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 261 

hibited. The surest way to make corporal punish- 
ment necessary is to advertise that it will never be 
administered. 

It is related that in the Southland a Negro 
farmer at one time missed several chickens from his 
hen house. On another occasion two shoats mys- 
teriously disappeared from their pen. To determine, 
if possible, the source of these thefts, he seated him- 
self one night at a good point of observation, and 
with shot gun in hand awaited developments. 
Shortly after midnight, he was surprised to see one 
of his colored neighbors stealthily approach his 
premises and proceed to help himself to several 
more choice fowls and another pig. The farmer 
pointed the shot gun in the direction of the thief, 
ordered him to replace the stolen property where it 
belonged, and then to get down on his knees and 
solemnly promise never again to steal any more 
chickens or pigs. The "darkey" replaced the stolen 
property as ordered, and then turning to his neigh- 
bor remarked that, while he was willing to carry 
out that part of his order, he did not propose '*to 
sign away any of his rights." 

Wise parents, sensible teachers, and prudent 
boards of education never indulge in threats as to 
what will be done, or in promises as to what will 
not be done in the future. They fully appreciate 
the meaning of the injunction — "Sufficient unto 
the day is the evil thereof." "In the place of the 
parent" is the legal status of teachers, which has 
been repeatedly sustained by the highest courts of 
the different states. Neither parents nor teachers 



262 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

have any right, moral or legal, to abuse children 
in any way. Both parents and teachers have the 
right, and it is their duty, so to discipline children 
as to develop in them the traits of character which 
are fundamentally necessary in all good citizens. 
It is always desirable and usually possible to secure 
such discipline without resort to corporal punish- 
ment. In the few instances in which it is neces- 
sary to use such punishment, teachers should not 
be interfered with either by unwise parents who 
are incapable of securing home discipline, or by im- 
prudent boards of education whose members pass 
unnecessary rules for the guidance of teachers. In 
no instance is it wise for parents, teachers, or 
boards of education **to sign away any of their 
rights." 

That the problem of school discipline is a dif- 
ficult one is evident to all who have given it any 
thoughtful consideration. The old saying that it 
is hard to manage forty boys and girls — not forty 
acting like one, but each one acting like forty, helps 
us to a realization of what the problem really is. 
The marvel is that the public schools, with their 
millions of pupils, move on in their important work 
with so little friction in their discipline. So seldom 
is there any serious trouble in their management 
that, when any difficulties do arise, the newspapers 
usually publish a sensational account of them as a 
choice morsel of news. It is within the bounds of 
truth to state that the average public school runs 
with less friction in its government than the aver- 
age home. Parents will no doubt admit that, in 



CO-OPERATION ~ TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 263 

their own homes, with their own children, scenes 
sometimes occur, which they would not like to see 
described in the newspapers in the manner which 
too often characterizes newspaper accounts of 
occasional school difficulties. The experiences of 
parents with their own children should lead them 
to be more sympathetic with teachers in their 
difficult task, and less critical of their actions, even 
should they happen to make mistakes. If parents 
cannot always be patient with the actions of their 
own children, they should not be too severe in their 
denunciation of teachers who may occasionally mani- 
fest impatience with the actions of forty or more 
children of different dispositions and temperaments, 
coming from all types and kinds of homes. 

Parental anxiety — and what parent is not 
anxious about his own children? — ^may well stop to 
ponder the anxiety of teachers as they strive to 
devise ways and means to help the children in the 
struggles that must always accompany growth in 
character, and as they work on day by day with 
the children, with the knowledge that failure some- 
times results from their most earnest efforts. The 
sympathy of parents with teachers is one of the 
greatest needs of the public schools. Because of a 
lack of this sympathy many teachers fail. Without 
such sympathy there can be no co-operation between 
teachers and patrons. 

Few people fully realize the great value of the 
public school to any community, simply as a dis- 
ciplinary force. In too many instances the public 
school is the only place where children are taught 



264 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

obedience of any kind. As an illustration of such 
an instance, the experience of a superintendent of 
schools is in place. 

As this superintendent glanced out of his office 
window one morning, he noticed that a father and 
mother were approaching the school building and 
attempting to bring their small boy with them. 
He was pulling back with all his might and 
declaring in a most emphatic manner that he v/ould 
not go to school. The combined efforts of the father 
and mother finally succeeded in overcoming the 
frantic efforts of the boy who was dragged into the 
superintendent's office. Standing there with a re- 
bellious, disobedient, and determined spirit showing 
in his every look and movement, he was the 
product of that lack of home discipline, which some- 
times makes the discipline of the school so difficult. 
Holding on to their boy who gave many indications 
of a determination to escape, should the slightest 
opportunity present itself, the parents made the 
humiliating confession that he was entirely beyond 
their control and that he would not obey them at 
all. They then expressed the hope that the school 
might succeed in doing what they, as parents, 
admitted they had failed to do. The superintendent 
placed this disobedient, willful boy in charge of a 
primary teacher whose room was already over- 
crowded. In a few weeks, he had learned by kind 
but exceedingly firm treatment! to keep step to 
the splendid discipline of a modem primary school, 
and to do what he was requested to do by his 
teacher. In a few months the boy's father appeared 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 265 

before the board of education to complain of what 
he termed the harsh discipline of the school. It 
is usually the fathers or mothers of such boys, 
who are apt to complain about the discipline of the 
school and to criticise the teacher who succeeds 
in doing what they, as parents, confess they have 
been unable to do. Few parents who have totally 
failed in home discipline are willing to co-operate 
with teachers in school discipline. When obedience 
is taught and enforced in the home, the problem 
of school discipline is usually easily solved. But 
when there is a lack of parental control, coupled 
with constant criticism of the teacher who insists 
upon a proper regard for the authority of the school 
together with obedience to all reasonable require- 
ments, effective school discipline is made much 
more difficult. 

Another incident in the experience of a village 
school principal will serve to illustrate the spirit 
of co-operation which should characterize parents 
in their relations with teachers. This principal had 
charge of the room in which were seated all the 
advanced pupils. The enrollment was large and 
included pupils of varied capacities and needs. The 
number of different subjects to be taught to the 
large number of pupils made the work exceedingly 
difficult. In addition to his duties as teacher of 
his own pupils, the principal was expected to super- 
vise the work of the other teachers, to exercise a 
general oversight of the playground, to attend to the 
general discipline of the entire school, and to meet 
all the requirements both in school and out of school. 



266 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

which came to a village school principal at the time 
in which he served. In his own room was a boy 
with marked ability to prepare lessons with rapidity 
as well as to make trouble, when he was not en- 
gaged in study. In theory it is easy to suggest that 
all that is necessary to control such a boy is to keep 
him busy with purposeful work. In practice all 
teachers know that, with scores of other pupils to 
look after, it is not always possible to carry out 
such a theory with a mischief making pupil. One 
forenoon the boy in question was more troublesome 
than usual and was requested to remain at noon 
for a conference with the principal. In this con- 
ference an appeal was made to him to stop the prac- 
tices which had annoyed his teacher and disturbed 
the school. The appeal was accompanied with some 
very definite statements as to what would follow, 
if he did not of his own accord change his conduct. 
When the boy reached home, his father, who had 
finished his lunch, asked him why he was late. 
In the appealing tone of voice so easily assumed 
by boys of his type, he replied that he had been kept 
in. The father then asked what he had been kept 
in for. The boy's laconic reply — the reply usually 
given under such circumstances, was ''Nothing." 
The father then told him that, since he had been 
kept in for "nothing" it would be necessary to pro- 
ceed at once to protect him from such injustice in 
the future. The only way to insure such protection 
would be for the father and the boy to visit the prin- 
cipal, who lived only a short distance away, with 
the purpose of righting the wrong which had been 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 267 

done to the boy. When this proposal was made, the 
boy immediately surrendered , with the observation 

— ''Don't take me up there. Mr (the 

principal) is the last man on earth I want to meet, 
with you along r' The principal not knowing what 
was happening in the boy's home at the time, had 
gone to his own home for lunch. He ate little, be- 
cause he was too much worried to care for food. 
He feared that he might not have pursued the wisest 
course. He was anxious about the future results of 
the conference. Badly discouraged he started back 
to school. Glancing ahead, he noticed that the 
father was standing on the sidewalk, evidently 
waiting to see him. There at once came to him 
the thought that the father would defend the boy 
and condemn him, and he prepared for the ordeal 
which he imagined confronted him. To his sur- 
prise, the father met him in a most cordial manner, 
and then proceeded to relate the conversation which 
he had just had with his boy. He followed this with 
the suggestion that he suspected that his boy was 
hard to manage, since he was evidently a "chip off of 
the old block." The cordial manner shown by the 
father and his willingness to admit that his boy was 
not an angel, opened up the way to a friendly con- 
sideration of his misconduct and led to a thorough 
understanding of how the home and school could co- 
operate in bringing about the needed reform. The 
boy was an only child. The father admitted that, 
at times, it was difficult for his parents to decide 
upon what was best to be done to insure the best 
results, and then in the spirit of true co-operation 



268 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

said to the principal that he believed that, working 
together, the parents and teacher could save the 
boy. After that interview, the principal returned 
to his school with a light heart in the full knowledge 
that no trouble could come in relation to the be- 
havior of the boy, which could not be satisfactorily 
met, because of the assured co-operation between 
the parents and teacher. To save boys and girls to 
lives of usefulness is the chief business of both the 
home and the public school. To succeed in this mis- 
sion requires the united efforts of parents and 
teachers. Without the sympathetic support of the 
home, the best efforts of the school are often of 
little avail. And the saddest thing about the failure 
which results from a lack of co-operation between 
parents and teachers is that the children involved 
pay the penalty. 

One of the chief factors in making and keeping 
the world safe for democracy is education which 
leads to respect for authority and obedience to law. 
Long since, Abraham Lincoln recognized the im- 
portance of such education and urged that it be 
made universal in homes, schools, and churches. 
On January 27, 1837, he delivered his remarkable 
address on "The Perpetuation of Our Political In- 
stitutions." The following quotation from this ad- 
dress should be so taught to all American youth that 
its sentiments will find a place in their hearts and 
its teachings will be practiced in their lives : 

"Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well 
wisher to his posterity swear by the blood of the Revolution 
never to violate in the least particular the laws of the 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 269 

country, and never to tolerate their violation by others. As 
the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution 
and laws let every American pledge his life, his property, and 
his sacred honor — let every man remember that to violate 
the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear 
the charter of his own and his children's liberty. Let rever- 
ence for the law be breathed by every American mother to 
the lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in 
schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in 
primers, spelling books, and in almanacs; let it be preached 
from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced 
in courts of justice. And in short, let it become the political 
religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the 
rich and the poor, the grave and the gay of all sexes and 
tongues and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon 
its altars." 

In this commercial age when the cry against 
any attempt to enforce the laws against dishonest 
practices is so often heard from those who claim 
that such enforcement is a menace to the business 
interests of the country, Lincoln's appeal "never to 
violate in the least particular the laws of the coun- 
try, and never to tolerate their violation by others," 
comes with renewed force. To this call for respect 
for authority and obedience to law all homes and 
schools should rally with determination to co- 
operate in every possible way in teaching to the 
children of the nation such lessons of obedience as 
will insure a law-abiding citizenship in the days 
to come. 



CHAPTER XIX 

CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 

(Concluded) 

IN the important work of securing the applica- 
tion and industry necessary for pupils to 
obtain an education, the help of the home 
is an absolute necessity to the success of the 
school. In these days of marvelous progress in 
science and in invention, care must be exercised by 
those in educational authority lest the people be- 
come inoculated with the notion that there is after 
all some royal road to learning over which children 
can be carried, without effort on their part, to an 
education. We now talk so far and with such great 
ease, travel so rapidly and comfortably at so little 
expense, and enjoy so many material comforts and 
mechanical conveniences that it is difficult not to 
conclude that there ought to be some way of getting 
an education without any great amount of applica- 
tion and industry or serious effort. 

At the Philadelphia Centennial there was an 
electrical exhibit which at that time was considered 
marvelous. Three electric novelties were of in- 
tense interest to all who witnessed this exhibit. 
They were the electric light, the telephone, and a 
small trolley car which was operated at certain 
hours each day to the great amusement of the 
crowds of people who were present. Backward and 

(270) 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 271 

forward along the miniature track on which it ran, 
this wonderful car made its mysterious journeys. 
The fact that it was moved by an invisible power 
led some persons to suspect that a magician, hidden 
somewhere nearby, was directing its movements. In 
fact an elderly man one day expressed what was 
in the minds of many, who were watching the 
moving car, by the observation: "You can't fool 
me. There's somebody somewhere pushin' that 
thing." More than one visitor to the Centennial 
came away feeling that this explanation was the 
correct one. Very few of the observers, with the 
possible exception of the scientists who knew the 
facts and who, with something of prophetic vision, 
could foresee the wonderful future of electricity, 
ever dreamed that those electric novelties would 
ever come into general use. But what were novel- 
ties and curiosities then are prime necessities in the 
social and busines life of today. The electric light 
is now found everywhere, in country as well as in 
city, literally turning night into day. We constantly 
use the telephone often wondering how we ever 
lived without it. And we are told that in the near 
future we may be able to sit in our homes or offices 
and talk to our friends anj^where and everywhere 
with no ''hello-girl" to intervene or "automatic 
busy-buzz" to interfere. Trolley cars are no longer 
confined to cities and towns, but carry their millions 
of passengers everywhere throughout the country. 
It is perhaps not surprising that in the midst 
of all this rapid change and progress in material 
things, there should be many parents and some 



272 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

teachers who have formed the hasty and false con- 
clusion that, by this time, some inventive genius in 
the educational world should have provided some 
kind of an electric educational railway on which 
children can be placed at from four to six years of 
age, a few nickels be dropped into the slot to pay 
their passage, and no further attention be paid to 
them by the home until they are graduated at the 
other end of the line, with a diploma as a sort of 
remembrance of the pleasures of the delightful 
journey which was characterized by the constant 
presence of ease and the complete absence of effort. 
In too many instances parents seem to be more anx- 
ious to have their children go through school than 
they are to have the school go through their chil- 
dren. With such parents graduation is considered 
far more important than education. In the lan- 
guage of Dean Briggs of Harvard University, 

"Many parents regard school and college as far less 
serious in demands than business; a place of delightful ir- 
responsibility where youth may disport himself for a season 
before he is condemned to hard labor." 

Parents of this type are a real menace to the 
success of any school. Their influence both in their 
own homes with their own children and in the com- 
munity where they live is always harmful. Should 
they happen to be, as they sometimes are, influ- 
ential in financial circles and able to purchase social 
standing, they can make serious trouble for teachers 
and superintendents who insist that application and 
industry are absolutely necessary for all pupils rich 
or poor. 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 273 

No school, however efficient, can give an educa- 
tion to any one. If such a thing were possible, no 
doubt the percentage of educated people would be 
much larger than at present. Fortunately an educa- 
tion cannot be bought. If it could, thousands of 
rich people, who are unwilling to have their chil- 
dren pay the price of application and industry to 
secure an education, would bid high in the market 
for even a small supply. All that any school can 
give to any one is a chance to work out his own 
educational salvation. There are not and there can- 
not be any short cuts to an education. There are 
no easy ways of learning to think. Work may be 
made pleasanter and school life may be made hap- 
pier by better methods and wiser teachers. But 
hard work will ever remain a prime necessity in 
winning honorable success either in obtaining an 
education or in using it after it is obtained. 

The success of country bred men is a matter of 
frequent reference and favorable comment. There 
is no denying the fact that a large majority of the 
most successful business and professional men were 
reared in the country in the midst of many apparent 
disadvantages. Two factors have entered into their 
early training, which will, in a measure at least, 
help to explain their success, sometimes credited to 
the supposed mental and moral superiority of coun- 
try boys as compared with town or city boys — a 
superiority which has no existence in fact. 

Country boys are usually so trained in early 
life, both by teaching and by experience, las to 
cause them to take responsibility seriously. The 



274 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

assumption of such responsibility leads them 
to take the initiative, when necessary, in doing 
the work of the home. The many chores which are 
incident to the life of the farm all tend to develop 
the sense of responsibility and the habit of taking 
the initiative in doing things which need to be done. 
Country boys do not usually have any greater long- 
ing for such performance of duty than their city 
cousins. But in the experience of the former, the 
tasks are present and must be performed, while in 
the life of the latter, the absence of such demands 
tends to develop the inertia of rest rather than that 
of motion and to produce habits of idleness rather 
than a willingness to work. The constant presence 
of work of some kind demanding careful attention 
on the farm is a strong factor in training country 
boys in the habits of industry so necessary in win- 
ning success. The almost complete absence of work 
for city boys in the unoccupied hours of their school 
days, and especially during vacation, is a constant 
menace to their welfare as well as a constant source 
of anxiety to thoughtful parents who realize that 
the "devil always has something for idle hands 
to do.'^ 

Several years since, a prominent citizen of a 
large city in talking with an intimate friend, re- 
marked that he was sometimes at a loss to know 
what to do with his three boys during the summer 
time — ^that he was afraid of the idleness of the 
vacation. The friend, knowing that this father, like 
himself, was reared on the farm could not refrain 
from smiling as he inquired whether, in his boy- 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 275 

hood home, there was ever any similar anxiety 
of those in authority. All who were reared on 
the farm can readily answer this inquiry. They 
will recall that in their boyhood days all the farmers 
seemed to have work planned ahead for at least 
twenty-five years, even the rainy days being fully 
provided for with work in the barn or woodhouse. 
To this father, however, the problem was a very 
different one. He had good reason to be anxious 
about his three boys and to be afraid of the idleness 
of the vacation in a large city. Those three boys 
have since grov/n to manhood. All of them are now 
filling important places in business and professional 
life. All are young men of character — a credit 
and a comfort to their parents. And they are 
what they are largely because their father's fear 
of the idleness of the vacation led him to see to 
it that his boys always had something to do in 
the vacation time. The work which was secured 
for them, or which they often took the initiative in 
securing for themselves, was not usually such as 
could be performed with unsoiled hands, or without 
tired muscles. But however exacting the demands, 
they were cheerfully met. 

In many cities much is being done to improve 
the opportunities of children for work. Vacation 
schools are being established and industrial train- 
ing introduced. But none of these things can ever 
fully take the place of home training which strives 
constantly to impress children with a sense of re- 
sponsibility in the performance of home duties, and 
which persistently insists upon home work in the 



276 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

preparation of lessons — home work, not by the 
parents for the children, but by the children for 
themselves. One of the inexplainable things which 
teachers are often compelled to witness with sincere 
regret is the constant effort of parents who are 
strong in ability and character, because of having 
been compelled to work their own way to success 
in the midst of disadvantages, to remove every 
semblance of difficulty from the educational path- 
way of their children. In their attempt to relieve 
their children of all hard work by practically get- 
ting their lessons for them, such parents, through 
mistaken kindness, rob them of an opportunity to 
grow strong by means of the discipline of self-help. 
In too many instances the benefits of home study 
are lost to children because of the mistaken kind- 
ness of an over-indulgent father or mother. 

In some instances children of wealthy families 
turn out to be worthless in life, because they are not 
taught either to work, themselves, or to respect 
those who do work. If the public school insists upon 
honest effort as the only condition of success, such 
children are either permitted to quit school or are 
sent to some fashionable private school where money 
is supposed to be able to purchase what the children 
have been unwilling or incompetent to earn by their 
own efforts. In other instances parents who have 
worked their way through college send their in- 
dolent sons to the most expensive institution the 
country affords, and give them all the money they 
want to be squandered in dissipation. When vaca- 
tion comes such sons sometimes have to be sent to 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 277 

some seaside resort to recuperate their energies for 
another year of dissipation. Unfortunately, there 
are still a few so-called schools which harbor young 
people of this type. 

Sometimes children of real promise are spoiled 
by being made to feel that, because they are bright, 
hard study is unnecessary. It is dangerous for 
young persons to entertain the notion that they can 
succeed by their wits without honest, persistent 
effort. Thomas Edison has been quoted as saying 
that success is made up of five per cent of native 
ability and ninety-five per cent of hard work. 
Whether this statement represents the relative pro- 
portions of the ingredients of which success is com- 
posed may be a debatable question. But there can 
be no doubt of the fact that the probabilities of 
doing something worth while in the world are much 
greater for students who put forth one hundred 
per cent of effort in connection with a relatively 
small per cent of ability than for students who 
have one hundred per cent of ability but who put 
forth only a relatively small per cent of effort. It 
is possible that if class honors, usually conferred on 
commencement day, were deferred for fifteen or 
twenty years after graduation, a more just recogni- 
tion of real worth might be given. It would then 
be made plain that not simply native ability alone 
is essential to success but that constant use of and 
application of that ability in persistent hard work 
on the problems of life are even more important. 

One of the danger points in school administra- 
tion is found in the tendency to heed demands to 



27S OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

let down the standard of effort and to assume that, 
if children attend school with a fair degree of regu- 
larity, they will absorb knowledge and the ability 
to use it. These demands sometimes come in the 
form of an insistence by some parents that 
no home study be required of children under any 
circumstances. Sensational papers and magazines 
join in these demands with the specious plea that 
boys and girls in the public schools must be pro- 
tected from "nervous prostration" due to overwork 
in grammar schools and high schools. It is possible 
that there may be found in the public schools a few 
girls who are the victims of overwork resulting 
from the demands of over-ambitious parents or the 
requirements of unreasonable teachers. There can 
be no doubt that a much larger number can be 
found who are the victims of ''nervous prostration" 
because of premature entrance into society, which 
takes them out to parties, dances and theaters 
several nights each week, when they should be at 
home in bed getting wholesome sleep. Examples 
of boys overworked in the public schools are hard 
to find. But examples of boys ruined in body, mind, 
and soul by cigarette smoking, permitted in some 
homes and even encouraged by the practices of some 
fathers, are found on every hand. 

It is highly important that all sensible parents 
co-operate with teachers in protecting the schools 
against the demands that standards of work be 
lowered to meet the requirements of parents who 
care more for society than they do for education. 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 279 

and in giving proper recognition of the value of 
application and industry in the lives of children. 

Fairness and justice demand that teachers 
should never be condemned without a hearing. Our 
constitution guarantees that the worst criminal 
shall be confronted by his accusers and be given a 
chance not only to defend himself but also to have 
an attorney to conduct his defense at the expense 
of the state; that the trial be conducted by an im- 
partial judge; and that the final decision as to the 
guilt or innocence of the accused shall be deter- 
mined by a jury of twelve men sworn to render a 
verdict in strict accordance with the evidence pre- 
sented. 

Public school teachers are not always accorded 
this courtesy. Too often they are the victims of 
unfair criticism by parents who act upon "hearsay" 
evidence which would not be permitted in any court 
of justice engaged in the trial of criminals of any 
type. Not infrequently teachers are condemned 
without a hearing upon silly reports of what really 
never happened. Because of these unfair criticisms 
and the resulting unjust condemnation of teachers, 
it is necessary that a plea be made that the home 
help the school by such co-operation on the part 
of parents as will lead them to pay no attention to 
the idle rumors afloat in all communities regarding 
the work of the school, or to the necessarily biased 
reports of alleged partiality or injustice of teachers. 
In the majority of instances such rumors and re- 
ports originate with children who have been justly 



280 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

disciplined far some offense and who desire to make 
trouble for the teacher. The sleeping car passenger 
who was aroused and urged to desist from his loud 
snoring which was keeping all the other passengers 
awake, and who, in reply to his question, "How do 
you know I was snoring?" was told that every one 
heard him, and who then replied, "Well, you mustn't 
believe all you hear," stated a truth which, if heeded 
by parents, would bring great relief to teachers who 
are not infrequently misrepresented and misunder- 
stood because of the credence given to idle rumors. 
Some of us can vividly recall a game which was 
quite popular in the country schools which we at- 
tended. This game was played on rainy days when 
outdoor sports were not possible. How distinctly 
memory recalls the appearance of the semi-circle 
formed in the old school house and composed of 
two or three scores of boys and girls. At the head, 
seated close together, were the older boys and girls 
who had reached the age when they were intensely 
interesting to one another. Next in order, seated 
by themselves, came the smaller girls who had not 
reached that period. Last of all came the forlorn 
boys who did not think they ever would reach it. 
Those who occupied the extreme foot of this latter 
class may still recall the suffering which accom- 
panied the bashfulness which characterized them at 
that time. Boys of this age and type need and 
should have all the sympathy which can come to 
them from all possible sources. Boys who are too 
old to be interesting to the old women of the com- 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 281 

munity but who are not old enough to be interest- 
ing to the young girls are in a precarious condition. 
But to return to the game. The girl who sat 
at the head whispered into the ear of the boy next 
to her a long meaningless sentence. This was done 
with such haste and in such an indistinct, inco- 
herent manner, as to render it impossible to under- 
stand what was thus whispered. The boy in turn 
told what he pretended to hear to his neighbor, 
always adding a little on his own account to the 
strange medley of words rapidly passing along the 
line. Finally the last boy was reached. Silence 
then reigned for a brief space of time as all eyes 
and ears were turned, first to the girl at the head 
as she slowly repeated the statement with which 
the message began, and then to the boy at the foot 
as he in turn related what had reached him at the 
other end of the line. After the shouts of laughter 
which followed had died away the game was 
repeated, the fun growing with each round. The 
laughter was due, of course, to the fact that there 
was never any resemblance between the statement 
with which the girl at the head started the game 
and the final report of the boy at the foot. 

This game was called "Gossip." Few, if any 
of the boys and girls who played the game knew 
what the word meant. All of them who have since 
taught school have learned its meaning by experi- 
encing the harmful results which have come from 
the gossip of the communities in which they have 
taught. Unfortunately all communities have homes 



282 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

in which idle rumor, no matter how unreasonable, 
is certain to find sympathetic listeners, and the 
tongue of gossip, no matter how ridiculous its story, 
is certain to be given an attentive hearing. Earnest 
teachers are often greatly embarrassed in their 
work because some parents, and sometimes mem- 
bers of the board of education persist in listening to 
idle tales which are put into circulation by trouble- 
some children and then passed around in the com- 
munity by gossiping adults. 

How often the little misunderstandings which 
arise between parents and teachers would vanish if 
parents would decline to listen to the idle rumors 
which so often abound in the community. If, in- 
stead of gossiping about teachers, parents would 
visit the schools to get acquainted with them or 
invite them to their homes in order that they might 
learn to know them intimately, both schools and 
homes would be greatly benefited. In the majority 
of instances, parents who really know what is going 
on in the schools which their children attend, are 
ready to co-operate with the teachers in their work. 
Every community has its citizens who assume to 
know what is going on in schools, which they 
never visit, and who out of the fullness of their 
ignorance, are always ready to advise teachers what 
to do and how to do it. Teachers should always 
seek an intimate acquaintance with the home life of 
their pupils. Parents should learn all that can be 
known about the work of the school. As the result 
of such acquaintance and knowledge, there will 
grow up between the school and the home that sym- 



CO-OPERATION — TEACHERS WITH PATRONS 283 

pathetic relation without which real co-operation is 
impossible. 

When parents sustain teachers in the disci- 
pline of the school ; when they support them in the 
enforcement of all reasonable regulations and re- 
quirements which have for their object the develop- 
ment of studious habits together with an apprecia- 
tion of the necessity of hard work ; when they refuse 
to listen to school gossip and decline to pass judg- 
ment upon the work of the schools and teachers 
without any knowledge of either, teaching will be 
relieved of much that is discouraging and teachers 
will be enabled to devote all their time and energy 
to the welfare of their pupils. 



CHAPTER XX 

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 

IN the midst of the many difficulties and dis- 
couragements which teachers are certain to 
meet, both in the school room and outside of 
it, it is well for them to realize that there are also 
many sources of encouragement from which inspira- 
tion can be drawn to help them in their daily tasks. 
It is unfortunate for any class of people to habituate 
themselves to thinking that all the hard things of 
life and living center about their calling or profes- 
sion. The advice of Mrs. Wiggs — **Don't you go 
an' git sorry fer yerself" — furnishes a wholesome 
philosophy for all who are inclined to complain 
about their condition. "Pollyanna" contains a lesson 
which many need to learn and all need to practice. 
The "Glad Game" has great possibilities in it for 
all who are willing to play it in the right spirit. 

A friend who was once entertained in the home 
of a discouraged school principal was compelled to 
listen to his lament that all his days were spent with 
children ; that he had no opportunity to mingle with 
his equals in the world of business; and that he 
longed for the time when he could leave the school 
room and its anxieties and perplexities and enjoy 
freedom from the care which he vainly imagined 
belonged only to the life of the teacher. Within 
a week afterward this friend talked with another 

C284) 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 285 

man who had taught school in his earlier years, 
and who had become a successful business man. 
He lamented the fact that he had to witness so 
many of the dishonest practices of the business 
world, and stated that he often longed for a return 
of the days when he taught school and associated 
with bright, happy, innocent children. In most 
human beings there is a tendency to make difficul- 
ties harder to meet by imagining that other people 
have none to meet. The best remedy for this dis- 
ease is a full realization of the fact that no workers 
anywhere are without their difficulties and dis- 
couragements, and that all worthy work worthily 
performed has connected with its performance 
sources of encouragement. To call attention to some 
of the sources of encouragement connected with the 
work of teaching is the purpose of this closing 
chapter. 

Teachers in common with all others, who are 
honestly and faithfully trying to meet their respon- 
sibilities and to improve their opportunities, find 
in the consciousness of duty performed a source of 
genuine encouragement. No one can deprive teach- 
ers of the happiness which always comes from this 
source. With such encouragement, the routine 
work of the school loses much of what must be 
drudgery to teachers who complain of their respon- 
sibilities or who refuse to make use of their oppor- 
tunities. Work can never grow monotonous to 
teachers who have high ideals of duty. To them 
will come something of the vision of a life of 
duty made up in a large measure of a repetition of 



286 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

daily tasks performed in a happy spirit, and so 
beautifully described in the following stanza from 
Edward Rowland Sill: 

"Forenoon and afternoon and night — 
Forenoon and afternon and night — 
Forenoon and afternoon — and what? 
And that is life? 

No more? Make this forenoon sublime, 
This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer, 
And time is conquered and thy crown is won." 

To many teachers engrossed with the details 
of their daily routine, there may seem to be little 
opportunity to have any part in the consideration 
or the solution of what may appear to them to be 
the larger and more important problems of educa- 
tion and life. It is nevertheless true that all teach- 
ers who faithfully perform their daily tasks do have 
a large part in the solution of all such problems. 

Nearly three decades ago, in a small village 
school, a modest but efficient primary teacher 
conscientiously taught the little children some 
of the simple facts about the injurious effects 
of alcohol upon the human system. Among the 
children thus taught was a little boy whose father, 
a working man, occasionally indulged in the use 
of liquor. One day the father, accompanied by his 
boy, was offered a glass of beer by a friend who, 
at the same time, laughingly offered to the child a 
tiny glass of the same beverage. As the father 
raised his glass to his lips, he was startled by the 

statement of his boy that Miss , his 

teacher, had told him that it was not good for people 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 287 

to drink beer or whiskey. The father looked at his 
boy and thought of the possibility that, when he 
grew up, he might not be able to control an ap- 
petite for drink acquired by following his father's 
example. He realized what the teacher, in whom 
he had perfect confidence, was unselfishly trying to 
do for his boy and he then and there became a total 
abstainer and an active opponent of the saloon. In 
all the campaigns against the saloon, which have 
been carried on in the village, county, and state in 
which this father lives, he and his son have been 
ardent champions of the temperance cause. Who 
will say that that primary teacher, and thousands 
of others like her, have not had a large part in 
bringing about the great temperance movement 
which is now sweeping over the country, and which 
promises the early abolition of the saloon in the en- 
tire nation? 

In the appreciation of their pupils or students, 
teachers find another source of most helpful en- 
couragement. Frequently this encouragement comes 
in the class room with the teaching of the lesson. 
All who teach well, know the joy which comes with 
noting the change of countenance in pupils who 
have passed from darkness to light, as the result 
of an understanding of some difficulty which has 
been made plain to them by some helpful suggestion 
from the teacher. Sometimes pupils who have 
been made to realize by means of discipline the 
harmful results of wrongdoing, manifest sincere 
appreciation for what has been done for them by 
teachers. The assumption that merited punish- 



288 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

ment always leads pupils to hate teachers who ad- 
minister such punishment is unwarranted. One 
reason for the absence of appreciation of pupils 
for their teachers is the absence of the wholesome 
discipline which teaches respect and commands 
obedience. 

All who have taught long enough to have their 
former pupils engaged in the affairs of actual life 
know the encouragement which comes with the 
hearty appreciation of men and women whom they 
formerly taught. Not infrequently successful busi- 
ness men readily give credit to their boyhood teach- 
ers for the training which has made their success 
possible. In all communities will be found min- 
isters, lawyers, physicians, bankers, working men, 
and working women — persons in all walks of life 
who are ever ready to pay tribute to the teachers 
of their childhood and youth. Many teachers now 
living in retirement find in the gratitude of their 
former pupils a source of such comfort and joy as 
are unknown to persons who have devoted their lives 
to the accumulation of property with no thought of 
helpfulness to others. 

The appreciation of parents for what teachers 
do for their children is a third source of encourage- 
ment for teachers. Unfortunately there are many 
parents who never express the gratitude which they 
feel. In this respect they are not unlike other 
people, including teachers. In chapter fifteen of 
this book teachers are urged to express the apprecia- 
tion which is due their pupils for their readiness 
to co-operate in the discipline of the school and for 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 289 

their efforts to do the work assigned to them day 
by day. It is equally important that parents ex- 
press the appreciation which is due teachers for 
their readiness to co-operate with the home and for 
their faithful work in the school room. With some 
parents, failure to express their appreciation of 
teachers is due to timidity. With others, indiffer- 
ence is the cause. With a still larger number, 
thoughtlessness is the explanation. The attitude of 
the latter class is indicated by the following illus- 
tration. 

A superintendent of schools was called into the 
store of a prominent business man for a conference. 
This business man hastened to tell the superin- 
tendent with much enthusiasni of the good work 
which a new eighth grade teacher was doing. When 
asked how he knew about the teacher and her good 
work, the man replied that he had a boy in her^ 
school ; that this boy had given his parents much 
anxiety because he had formed such a dislike for 
going to school the year before that it had been 
difficult to persuade him to enter the eighth grade ; 
that the father had compelled him to go but that 
he had feared that he might not be able to keep him 
in school, and that if he did remain in school, little 
would be accomplished by him. He then told of the 
remarkable change which had come over his boy, 
that he now loved to go to school and gladly re- 
mained at home in the evenings to prepare his 
lessons for the next day. This father gave the 
teacher the entire credit for the change in the boy's 
attitude toward school and study and declared that 

19* 



290 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

the teacher must be a remarkable woman to exer- 
cise such a wholesome influence over a boy. The 
superintendent thanked the father for his kindly 
expression of appreciation of the work of the new 
teacher and then inquired whether he had told 
her of his gratitude for what she had done for 
his boy. With deep embarrassment the father re- 
plied, "I never thought of it." In the confession, 
"I never thought of it," will be found the reason 
for the failure of many parents to express the ap- 
preciation which they really feel for the work of 
teachers. 

While such thoughtlessness of parents is in- 
excusable, it is unwise for teachers to dwell upon 
it to such an extent as to lead them to fail to realize 
that there are many parents who do think to express 
their appreciation of the work of the school. Such 
parents are found in all communities and their 
gratitude is a source of constant encouragement to 
teachers. 

The confidence and approval of boards of educa- 
tion is another source of encouragement for teach- 
ers. Only persons who have served on boards of 
education can fully realize the responsibility of the 
position and the thanklessness of the public ex- 
hibited in too many instances by an attitude 
of unreasonable and unjust criticism manifested 
toward the men and women who give many hours 
of valuable time in the most important public serv- 
ice to which anyone can be called. Even teachers 
are sometimes unappreciative of what members of 
boards of education do for them. In some instances 
their lack of appreciation is shown by joining in 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 291 

the criticism which is too often due to ignorance or 
misunderstanding. More frequently this lack of 
appreciation is shown by a failure to extend to the 
board the courtesy of a word of thanks, either 
spoken or written, for an election to a position or 
for a re-election at an increase in salary. 

A few years since, in one of the states of the 
central west, the enactment of a new school code 
necessitated the election of new boards of education 
to succeed boards which had been in control of the 
schools for many years. After the election in one 
of the townships, the members of both boards met 
together to consider the needs and interests of the 
schools of the township, and to transact the busi- 
ness incident to the transfer of authority from the 
old board to the new. The meeting was an im- 
portant one, continuing until late at night. One of 
the members had gone to sleep early in the session. 
When the time came for final adjournment, he was 
peacefully slumbering. Before taking the final step 
which would close the old and open the new admin- 
istration, the clerk of the old board remarked that 
he desired to read a letter which had been addressed 
to him, and which was of interest to all the retiring 
members. He then proceeded to read : 

"Board of Education, 

Township^ 



"Gentlemen: 

"I am sending this note to thank" — 

The unusual sound of the word "thank" aroused 
the sleeping member who straightened up in his 



292 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

chair and asked what was going on. The clerk then 
started at the beginning and read, 

"I am sending this note to thank you, the members of 
the retiring board of education, for the position to which you 
elected me last year, for the support you have given me in 
my work, and for the increase in salary granted me this 
year." 

This note of appreciation was signed by a young 
woman who was a graduate of the normal school of 
the nearby city. A member of this board, who 
served the schools of his township for more than a 
quarter of a century, and who always loyally sup- 
ported the teachers, is authority for the statement 
that in all that time the note from this teacher was 
the only note received from any one thanking the 
board for anything. 

Teachers should show their appreciation of an 
election or a re-election not alone by a courteous 
expression of gratitude for the confidence thereby 
manifested in them, but also by the recognition of 
the fact that an agreement or a contract with a 
board of education to teach school for a definite 
period at a definite salary is an obligation to be 
sacredly kept and not a mere ''scrap of paper" to 
be ignored, should they be elected to a more desir- 
able position at a larger salary. Superintendents 
in search of teachers should also recognize that 
some professional courtesy is due other superin- 
tendents and their boards of education. They 
should never attempt to induce teachers to leave the 
positions to which they have already accepted an 
election or a re-election, without first consulting the 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 293 

school authorities in charge of the school which such 
teachers have contracted to serve. In many in- 
stances teachers should be released from their 
agreements or contracts, when called to better posi- 
tions at increased salaries. But in no instance have 
they either a legal or moral right to accept another 
position, until they have been honorably released 
from the position previously accepted. No excuse 
can be offered for the breaking of a contract by a 
teacher. 

There are three important ways in which 
boards of education can encourage teachers in their 
work. The first is by recognizing merit and merit 
alone in their election and retention. By such 
recognition, inferior teachers can be largely elim- 
inated from any system of schools and superior 
teachers will be greatly encouraged to give their 
best service to the schools. How to determine 
definitely who are teachers of merit is not always 
an easy question, especially when the persons under 
consideration have had no actual experience in 
actual teaching. Personality is always an impor- 
tant factor. A right attitude toward life and child- 
hood is a necessity. Professionally trained teachers 
with the "model school" experience which is gen- 
erally a part of their training are usually the best 
"prospects," and should be given preference. But 
no one can foretell with absolute certainty whether 
or not anyone without experience will succeed as a 
teacher. The one sure test is teaching. After this 
test is made, it is usually not difficult to determine 
whether a teacher merits retention or not. It is always 



294 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

necessary, however, that care be exercised in pass- 
ing- final judgment upon the success or failure of 
teachers. With some, the promise of success which 
characterized their early efforts is not realized. 
With others, what seemed failure in the beginning 
changes into success later on. Fortunately, mem- 
bers of boards of education do not have to rely upon 
their own judgment in deciding the merits of teach- 
ers. Superintendents and principals are employed 
to perform this service and their recommendations 
are always followed by wise boards of education. 

Another way in which boards of education can 
extend much needed encouragement to teachers is 
by giving them their complete confidence and loyal 
support. As long as teachers are retained in the 
schools they have a right to expect and they should 
always have such confidence and support. Worthy 
members of boards of education will never be 
swerved in their loyalty to teachers by the carping 
criticism which always exists. One member of a 
board of education, who shows a willingness to 
listen to complaints against teachers in their ab- 
sence, can make untold trouble for the schools. 
Even when complaints are valid and criticisms are 
just, they should be made to the superintendent or 
principal who can usually dispose of them satisfac- 
torily. In no case should members of boards of 
education take the initiative in such settlement. 
Boards of education are courts of last resort in de- 
termining justice to teachers, pupils, and patrons. 
Under ordinary circumstances the fewer sessions 
held for this purpose the better for the schools. 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 295 

While a consciousness of duty performed, 
words of appreciation from grateful pupils, and 
patrons, and the confidence and support of loyal 
members of boards of education furnish much 
needed encouragement to teachers, all these com- 
bined do not provide a means of livelihood. While 
their value cannot be computed in money, neither 
can they take the place of money. While deserving 
teachers never teach for money alone, all teachers 
must have money with which to buy the necessities 
of life. A third way, therefore, and in many re- 
spects the most important way in which boards of 
education can give encouragement to teachers, is 
by the payment of liberal salaries. In some in- 
stances persons are elected to membership on 
boards of education with the unworthy ambition of 
saving money for the taxpayers by reducing school 
expenses. While there should always be rigid 
economy in the expenditure of public funds for any 
purpose, it is very rarely the case that less money 
should be spent for public education. If there is 
any extravagance in the use of school funds, it is 
occasionally shown in the erection and equipment 
of too costly buildings. If such extravagance occurs, 
it is never right to ask teachers to pay for the 
buildings thus erected by teaching at smaller 
salaries or for a shorter school year. It is never 
wise economy to employ cheap teachers or to reduce 
school opportunities and thereby to impair the 
rights of children to secure a good education. In 
the majority of instances, however, members of 
boards of education are willing to provide for the 



296 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

payment of as liberal salaries as the financial con- 
dition of the district will permit. Usually they are 
ready to join in any legitimate movement which 
will provide more money for the schools. They 
should always be, and they usually are citizens 
whose business ability and integrity inspire con- 
fidence in the community, and as a result they are 
qualified to lead in securing the financial recogni- 
tion which the schools deserve. 

In some communities there exist conditions 
which make it impossible for boards of education 
to pay good salaries. These conditions are in no 
sense the fault of those in control of the schools. 
Frequently they are due to extravagance in other 
departments of public service. There is a grow- 
ing feeling that the public schools will never be cer- 
tain of the financial support to which they are justly 
entitled, until laws are enacted which will insure 
that a definite and fixed proportion of all moneys 
raised by public taxation shall go to their mainte- 
nance. It is neither wise nor just to permit a board 
composed entirely of officials representing other de- 
partments of public service to determine the amount 
of money to be used by the schools. If boards with 
the power of making distribution of public funds 
are deemed necessary, common fairness demands 
that the public schools which constitute the most 
important public interest shall be represented on 
such boards. No custodians of public funds have 
a better record for economy and honesty in the use 
of funds at their disposal than boards of education. 
Because of the record which they have made and 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 297 

because of the interests which they represent, they 
are entitled to have entire control of the financial 
management of the public schools, including thp^ 
levying of taxes for their support as well as the ex- 
penditure of the money produced by such levy, 
subject only to such restrictions as will hold them 
to strict accountability and guard against any pos- 
sible extravagance or dishonesty. 

Even when sufficient funds are provided for 
the payment of teachers' salaries, the adjustment 
of such salaries presents one of the most difficult 
problems which boards of education have to meet. 
All who have had experience with teachers know 
that the difference in their real worth is much 
greater than the difference in the salaries paid 
them. Some teachers are worth their weight in 
gold. Others belong in the silver class. Some would 
be over-compensated, if paid in a leaden currency. 
Many factors enter into the value of a teacher's 
services. Knowledge is important. Ignorance is 
never a valuable commodity, and the supply is 
always so much greater than the demand that the 
tendency of prices is always downward. On the 
other hand there is always a good market in the 
business world for usable knowledge, and teachers 
who are in possession of a good supply of such 
knowledge should have financial recognition of 
what they know. To teachers, however, ability to 
impart knowledge to pupils in such a manner as to 
make them eager to know and willing to work to 
learn, is of far more worth than the knowledge it- 
self. Such ability should have much greater recog- 



298 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

nition than it has usually received in the adjust- 
ment of salaries. 

This ability to impart knowledge — ^the power 
to teach so as to cause another to know, comes in 
a large measure with experience. Experience which 
shows the development of such ability and teaching 
power should, therefore, be a large factor in deter- 
mining increases in salaries. Unfortunately in 
many school systems salaries are increased with ex- 
perience, regardless of the results shown by the 
experience. Some teachers are worth much more 
each succeeding year because of the mistakes elim- 
inated and the helpful lessons learned in the preced- 
ing years. Others are worth less each succeeding 
year, because of the mistakes repeated until they 
become habitual and the failure to improve by the 
lessons which should have been learned by experi- 
ence. To recognize the experience of teachers in 
a fair, just, and impartial manner, there should, 
therefore, be both an ascending and a descending 
salary scale. For all teachers who are so able and 
so eager to learn in the school of experience that 
they show marked improvement each year in their 
work, salaries should be increased as rapidly as 
financial conditions will permit. For teachers who 
are so indifferent to the lessons of experience as to 
keep on repeating their mistakes and thereby show- 
ing their inability to improve, salaries should be 
decreased so rapidly as to insure their retirement 
at an early date. 

In determining the value of the experience of 
teachers under their direction, superintendents and 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 299 

principals upon whom boards of education should 
rely for guidance in the adjustment of salaries, find 
a most difficult and delicate duty to perform — a 
duty which cannot be evaded without injury to the 
schools and injustice to the teachers, and which 
cannot be performed by the adoption of a fixed rule 
which automatically determines increase in salaries 
regardless of special merit possessed by superior 
teachers. Neither can the increasing or decreasing 
value of teachers' services be definitely determined 
by a formal "rating" of teaching and by recording 
on a "rating blank" the percents which some educa- 
tional theorist has decided are indicative of the rela- 
tive value of the desirable characteristics of teach- 
ers. In these days of "credits," "measurements," 
and "standardization," there is danger that a dead 
and deadening formalism may take possession of 
the schools and of those who are responsible for 
their administration. By means of a peculiar and 
prevalent type of specious reasoning based upon 
real or supposed analogies which are presumed to 
exist between the world of matter and the realm 
of the spiritual, conclusions are being drawn, which 
are as dangerous as they are false. It is compara- 
tively easy to measure the market value of work of a 
material nature and to know whether it has been 
well or poorly done. Frequently such work is done 
by the "piece" and paid for in accordance with a 
definite schedule as "piece work." On the other 
hand it is always exceedingly difficult to measure 
the value of the services of a teacher who knows 
what to teach and how to teach it, and whose life 



300 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

is consecrated to the work of training intellect and 
building character. Work of this nature cannot be 
done by the "piece" and then inspected and paid 
for at the schedule rate, when found to be done in 
accordance with the plans and specifications. 

It requires rare ability in a superintendent or 
principal to determine with fairness and justice the 
relative worth of teachers. It requires still rarer 
courage to assume the responsibility of advising a 
board of education to adopt a salary schedule which 
will in some measure at least give financial recogni- 
tion of such relative worth and thereby give the 
greatest encouragement to the most deserving 
teachers. In the midst of the imperfections in 
which we live and work ideal conditions cannot 
obtain. An ideal should be kept constantly in mind, 
however, by boards of education and their executive 
officers in the adjustment of salaries. This ideal 
will include, whenever possible, the payment of such 
salaries as will enable teachers to live in comfort 
and to lay aside something for old age, and an in- 
crease in salary each year to all teachers whose 
devotion to duty and growth in teaching power 
plainly show that they are worthy of the increase. 
It would seem that it ought also to be possible to 
make a definite distinction between the kinds of 
service rendered by different types of teachers and 
so to adjust salaries as to give special encourage- 
ment to teachers of special merit. 

Everyone knows, however, that the salaries 
usually paid to teachers in our public schools have 
not been in the past and are not now sufficient to 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR TEACHERS 301 

make it possible for them to provide for the future. 
One of the most discouraging things connected with 
the life of teachers is the anxiety with which they 
look forward to the time, when on account of ill- 
ness or old age, they must retire from active serv- 
ice. Teachers without relatives or friends upon 
whom they can depend for assistance in their de- 
clining years cannot escape such anxiety. 

Since it seems impossible under present condi- 
tion to secure sufficient money with which to pay 
salaries which will make it possible for teachers to 
provide for their future needs, it is highly important 
that provision should be promptly made in every 
state, as has already been done in several states, 
for a teachers' retirement fund which will guar- 
antee to all teachers who have given their lives to 
the service of the state, at least a reasonable degree 
of comfort in the years which follow their retire- 
ment. Such a retirement fund is not a gratuity — 
''Something given freely or without recompense." 
It is not a charity — "Whatever is bestowed gratu- 
itously on the needy or suffering for their relief." 
It is simply a belated payment of the interest on a 
debt long past due from the state to the over- 
worked and underpaid teachers who have done more 
for the physical, mental, and moral welfare of the 
state than any other class of citizens in the state. 
To such encouragement all worthy teachers are 
entitled. 

In a government of the people, by the people, 
for the people, it is imperative that all the people 
be given an education such as Our Public Schools 



302 OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

were founded to furnish. Just as in the crisis 
through which civilization is now passing, the world 
is looking to the United States for help to win the 
victory for democracy in its war against autocracy, 
so in the permanent peace which will follow this 
victory, the world will look to the United States to 
furnish the ideals of education, which are essential 
to the life of democracy. Never before in the his- 
tory of our nation have teachers in Our Public 
Schools faced such opportunities for service, or been 
called upon to assume such responsibilities for re- 
sults as at the present time. In their difficult work 
of training the youth of America for citizenship in 
a World Democracy, they need all the encourage- 
ment that can come to them from the loyal and 
liberal support of united and appreciative patrons. 
Without such encouragement, failure is inevitable. 
With such encouragement, success is assured. 



